COTABATO CITY, Philippinesย โ Officials in the Bangsamoro region have vowed to fully implement two long-term intervention plans aimed at safeguarding the rights and welfare of children and juveniles, with support from various government agencies and international partners.
Bangsamoro Social Services Minister Raissa Jajurie said Saturday, May 24, that her office recently conducted a three-day strategic review of the Regional Plan of Action for Children (RPAC) and the Comprehensive Regional Juvenile Intervention Program (CRJIP). The review led to the setting of new strategies to ensure the extensive implementation of both plans across all five provinces and three cities in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The strategic planning and program realignment workshop, held from May 21 to 23, focused on revising the RPAC and CRJIP to align them with national government frameworks for childrenโs and juvenile services.
Jajurie and Hasim Guaimil, director for programs and services at the Ministry of Social Services and DevelopmentโBARMM, said the RPAC and CRJIP are centered on protecting children’s rights and ensuring their access to education, healthcare, and other essential services.
The MSSD-BARMM, in partnership with the Ministry of Labor and EmploymentโBARMM and the United Nationsโ International Labour Organization (ILO), is spearheading projects aimed at eliminating child labor and preventing the recruitment of children as combatants in conflict areas across Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, and the cities of Lamitan, Marawi, and Cotabato.
โWe are doing our best, through our field offices in the Bangsamoro provinces and cities, to care for children and juveniles in their communities,โ Jajurie said.
In the past 24 months, BARMMโs social services and labor ministries, in coordination with the ILOโs Cotabato City office, have rescued 635 child laborers in Cotabato City and in various municipalities of Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, and Lanao del Sur.
โWe are also actively working to prevent the use of children as combatants, especially in communities affected by โrido,โโ said Labor and Employment Minister Muslimin Sema, referring to clan conflicts rooted in land disputes, political rivalries, or affronts to clan honor.
Rido is a local term for inter-clan violence or feuds across the culturally diverse Bangsamoro communities.
Units from the Police Regional OfficeโBangsamoro Autonomous Region and the Armyโs 6th Infantry Division, which operates in Central Mindanao, have helped mediate and resolve at least 37 clan wars in various BARMM towns since 2021.
Both Sema and Jajurie expressed gratitude to the ILO and other international humanitarian organizations for their continued support in advancing BARMMโs child and youth protection programs.
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