Press Release
November 19, 2009

REVILLA PUSHES TANODBATA BILL FOR ABUSED STREET KIDS

Alarmed by reports of wild rescue of street children in Metro Manila, Senator Bong Revilla pushed anew his bill that would create an independent body that would initiate investigation and pursue the prosecution of all incidents of child abuse, exploitation and discrimination.

The senator cited a UNICEF-funded study that revealed the practice of indiscriminate, involuntary, harmful and ineffective rescue of street children in Caloocan , Manila , Pasay and Quezon City . According to the study, the rescue operations are failing to protect children from abuse and exploitation and most rescuers use inappropriate intervention techniques. It also stated that the "rescues" are actually "arrests," indicating that street children are being used to meet the rescue teams' "quotas" which clearly violate children's rights. Also, an independent complaints mechanism is not available or accessible to rescued children.

"After the round-ups, the street children are released. It's all show, not a rescue operation but just a rescue illusion. They are done in disorderly fashion, not considering the rights of children guaranteed by our Constitution and other existing laws. Lack of awareness on children's rights and their objective in conducting rescue operations make the rescuers liable to child abuse," said Revilla, who filed a bill that would create the Office of Tanodbata, an independent body that will initiate investigation and pursue the prosecution, on its own, of any incidence of child abuse, exploitation and discrimination.

Revilla strongly condemned the reported molestation of street children by the rescuers themselves. "I urge the leadership of the DSWD and CHR to conduct an inquiry on this complaint. Incidents like these must not be ignored and should be addressed immediately. At the same time, we need to intensify our awareness campaign on children's rights not only in the communities but also in the streets where run-away kids dwell."

The lawmaker observed that existing public and private agencies have proven to be effective in reporting and monitoring violations of children rights but they have not been as effective in the prosecution and ultimately the successful final conviction of violators. "Using force during these so-called rescues traumatizes children for they are being treated as criminals. This is among the reasons why I am pushing the Tanodbata Bill. We really need an iron-fisted watchdog against child abusers, whether the offenders are ordinary citizens, family members or rescuers themselves," Revilla stressed.

Under Revilla's Senate Bill no. 811, the Office of the Tanodbata shall investigate, on complaint by any person or on its own, and initiate court action against any person, corporation or firm, for any and all commissions of child abuse. It shall have one special prosecutor and one investigator for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao . The Office of the Tanodbata shall direct any government agency to render assistance and furnish information necessary for the welfare of Filipino children and shall ensure that legislation relating to the protection of children's right is observed.

The UNICEF assumes that the number of street children in the Philippines at 250,000, with 50,000 of them highly visible, mostly in Metro Manila.

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