Child Rights For Urban Poor Children in Child Friendly Philippine Cities: Views From The Community

CHILD FRIENDLY CITIES
Child rights for urban poor

children in child friendly
Philippine cities: views from
the community
Mary Racelis and

Angela Desiree M Aguirre
Mary Racelis is the director, SUMMARY: This paper is an appraisal of the government and civil society
and Angela Desiree Aguirre
a research associate, of the
actions that form child friendly city programmes in 27 neighbourhoods of five cities
Institute of Philippine in the Philippines (Manila City, Quezon City, Cebu, Davao and Pasay City), along
Culture, Ateneo de Manila with case studies of four informal settlements (two with child friendly city
University, Philippines. programmes, two without). These programmes developed out of earlier urban basic
They are co-directing the
UNICEF-supported services programmes, but with the basic services focus greatly expanded to include
participatory action and child protection and participation within a child rights agenda. The paper describes
policy research, “Child the concepts underlying these programmes and the sociopolitical context in which
Friendly Cities and Urban
Poor Settlements: Views
they emerged. Each city programme is assessed, based on 24 child rights indica-
from the Community.” tors. The paper also includes a summary of children’s views with regard to prior-
ities for basic services, problems of crime and violence, and the possibilities for
Mary Racelis, full professor children’s participation. It ends with recommendations on how to make the child
of sociology, has published
extensively on poverty and friendly city programmes more effective.
urbanization, women and
gender, family, people's
participation, and socio-
cultural change. Dr Racelis I. INTRODUCTION
was the UNICEF regional
director for Eastern and IT HAS LONG been a staple of the poverty literature in developing coun-
Southern Africa, 1983–92,
and country representative
tries that most poor people live in rural areas. Yet, in the Philippines, 55
of The Ford Foundation, per cent of the population now live in cities and towns. Some 1.4 million
1992–97. She is a consultant poor households inhabit informal slum settlements. One half of them, or
to the Asian Development 3.5 million people, are found in Metro Manila, making up a third of its
Bank, AusAid, the
Rockefeller Foundation, population.(1) The other half are concentrated in Metro Cebu and Metro
UNDP, UNICEF, and the Davao, joined by other large and medium-sized cities with growing
World Bank, and is numbers of urban poor.
currently on several boards,
including the International
Institute for Rural a. The genesis of urban basic services
Reconstruction, Philippines
and New York, and Oxfam While several decades ago the United Nations Children’s Fund
America, Boston.
(UNICEF) focused programmes on rural children, as early as the 1970s
Address: Institute of insightful programme officers in major metropolitan areas already saw
Philippine Culture, Ateneo another reality emerging. Immediately around them were fast-growing,
de Manila University
Loyola Heights, Quezon densely packed slums and shanty towns. Children and their families
City, Philippines. Mail: P.O. spilled into narrow, muddy pathways snaking through perpetually
Box 154, Manila 1099 flooded marshlands or alongside fetid canals. Others clung to precarious
Tel: (63-2) 426-6067 to 6068;
(63-2) 426-6001, local 4651
hillside perches or clustered at the desert fringes of cities. Wherever they
E-mail: settled, their degraded environments and poverty-stricken lives reached
mracelis@mindgate.net levels of collective misery rarely seen in even the poorest rural villages.
Environment&Urbanization Vol 14 No 2 October 2002 97
CHILD FRIENDLY CITIES CHILD FRIENDLY CITIES
Yet, their energy and drive to establish a toehold in the city in the hope mracelis@admu.edu.ph The concept and characteristics of a child friendly city are addressed
of a better future were a source of wonder and admiration. Angela Desiree Aguirre
first, as elaborated in the programmes of five major cities in the Philip-
Because children under threat merited attention wherever they were, holds a Master of Science pines: Cebu City and Davao City in the Visayas and Mindanao regions;
this handful of development workers, along with risk-taking government degree in social and the city of Manila, Pasay City, and Quezon City in Metro Manila.
and NGO national counterparts, began extending basic services to slums development from the Next, we examine the Philippine sociopolitical context in which the lives
Ateneo de Manila
and informal urban settlements. They soon learned that the program- University. She has and efforts of the urban poor are lodged and government responses
ming environment differed significantly from that in rural communities. conducted research in the crafted. The results of rapid appraisals in 27 barangays, focusing on the
Already marginalized in a city featuring extremes of wealth and squalor, areas of children and youth, child friendly components in programmes in the five cities, are then
people-centred health,
poor urban children and women in informal settlements faced the added agrarian reform, and presented. The extent to which basic services, protection and participa-
threat of eviction and relocation far from family work sites. Poor sanita- natural resources tion correspond to community residents’ lives is assessed. The views of
tion and drainage, limited supplies of clean water, residential crowding, management. She co-wrote children in one of the designated child friendly barangays of Quezon City
a process documentation
the threat of fire and disease, lack of access to schools and health centres, research-generated
are highlighted as a sample of client assessment of government, business
victimization by corrupt politicians and criminal syndicates, and reliance publication, Life Cycle and civil society performance. Conclusions are reinforced by recom-
on the informal economy along with the good will of helpful neighbours Approach to Health Service mendations for enhanced child friendly programmes that combine
and relatives – all this called for a different way of reaching children. Delivery: The Bataraza government administrators’ and upper-middle-class civil society’s
Experiment, and supervised
Thus, the urban basic services (UBS) approach was born, initiated by a the two-volume World strengths with the capacities and interests of poor barangay children,
distinguished UNICEF New Delhi programme officer, Dr William B Bank-supported Resource youth and women and their community organizations.
Cousins. Guide for Social
Assessment, Environmental
The key characteristic of UBS was community participation – the prin- Assessment, Indigenous
ciple that urban poor residents should organize themselves to identify Peoples, and Involuntary II. THE CHILD FRIENDLY CITY: CONCEPT AND
problems and take action best suited to their needs. The leadership and Resettlement. CHARACTERISTICS
determination of poor urban women quickly came to the fore. Enlight-
Address: as Racelis above
ened government officials proved most helpful if their agency services Tel. (63-2) 426-6067 to 6068 TO BE CHILD FRIENDLY, a city must address the rights of children as
converged in the community for greater efficiency and easier manage- E-mail: ipcgigi@admu. laid out in 24 specific goals. Compliance entails reasonable levels of
ment by development workers and community residents alike. It became edu.ph health, nutrition, education, participation and protection. Beyond prior-
clear that the programme would be more successful and sustainable if itizing children’s rights to basic services, the city also reinforces the
officials listened to people’s views and addressed their priorities, while 1. Webster, Douglas, Arturo Convention on the Rights of the Child through legislation and ordi-
also obtaining their recognition of the constraints which government Corpuz and Christopher nances. It promotes the national Child Friendly Movement in situ,
faced. This multifaceted, participatory programming mode spread Pablo (with assistance from encouraging families, communities and the private sector to get involved.
quickly throughout the UNICEF programming world for poor children, the World Bank) (2002), This means placing children and youth at centre-stage through neigh-
Towards a National Urban
youth and women in cities. Development Framework for bourhoods, schools, health facilities, religious communities, workplaces
The UBS heritage of the 1980s and 1990s enabled Cebu City and Davao the Philippines: Strategic and media entities, which build child friendly outcomes into their activ-
City to begin transforming the basic services approach into the child Considerations, prepared for ities. Crucial are the actions around children actively fostered by city
the National Economic
rights agenda of child friendly cities. One important shift was the direct Development mayors and councillors, business leaders, civil society groups encom-
interaction that was now possible between UNICEF and city govern- Administration (NEDA), passing professional and civic associations, academia, the media,
ments, with the devolution of funds and authority to local officials.(2) This Government of the community-based organizations, cooperatives and labour unions. These
Philippines, page 7.
shift closer to residential neighbourhoods, or barangays (the lowest level entail not only basic services and protection from violence, abuse and
administrative governing body), has strengthened community demand 2. This resulted from the child labour but also the participation of children and youth in activities
processes. People’s organizations and civil society support groups assert passage of the Local and decisions that affect their lives.
their interests and negotiate with local officials on site. Underlying these Government Code of 1991, Linking sustainable urban systems to child friendly governance and
which devolved not only
transactions is the implied threat to elected officials that failing to key central government extending the model to other cities potentially enables many more chil-
respond satisfactorily to people’s priorities may cost them the next functions and personnel to dren to reap benefits. When national groups, such as the Council for the
election. local authorities but also Welfare of Children, assess the performance of a child friendly city, they
substantial financial
resources and control. highlight certain criteria, including higher levels of achievement in child-
b. The child friendly city study related city services compared to figures for the region and the nation,
along with continuous progress over time. Leadership by city authori-
This essay focuses on the experience of poor residents of informal settle- ties, targeted resource and investment allocations and effective mobi-
ments in five designated child friendly cities. How do children, women lization of civil society partners merit high scores. Finally, integrating the
and poor families in urban barangays fare in these cities’ approaches to new child friendly programmes supported by UNICEF and other donors
becoming child friendly? What are the clients’ reactions to city govern- into the regular city budget, enacting enabling legislation and attracting
ments’ responses to their needs, priorities and rights? A better under- additional donor support offer further proof of success. But what of the
standing of the reality of people’s lives in poor communities will go far people expected to benefit from this intensive mobilization? How are
towards enhancing child friendly partnerships among communities, their voices and those of their children heard?
NGOs, city and national governments and other concerned groups.
98 Environment&Urbanization Vol 14 No 2 October 2002 Environment&Urbanization Vol 14 No 2 October 2002 99
Yet, their energy and drive to establish a toehold in the city in the hope mracelis@admu.edu.ph The concept and characteristics of a child friendly city are addressed
of a better future were a source of wonder and admiration. Angela Desiree Aguirre
first, as elaborated in the programmes of five major cities in the Philip-
Because children under threat merited attention wherever they were, holds a Master of Science pines: Cebu City and Davao City in the Visayas and Mindanao regions;
this handful of development workers, along with risk-taking government degree in social and the city of Manila, Pasay City, and Quezon City in Metro Manila.
and NGO national counterparts, began extending basic services to slums development from the Next, we examine the Philippine sociopolitical context in which the lives
Ateneo de Manila
and informal urban settlements. They soon learned that the program- University. She has and efforts of the urban poor are lodged and government responses
ming environment differed significantly from that in rural communities. conducted research in the crafted. The results of rapid appraisals in 27 barangays, focusing on the
Already marginalized in a city featuring extremes of wealth and squalor, areas of children and youth, child friendly components in programmes in the five cities, are then
people-centred health,
poor urban children and women in informal settlements faced the added agrarian reform, and presented. The extent to which basic services, protection and participa-
threat of eviction and relocation far from family work sites. Poor sanita- natural resources tion correspond to community residents’ lives is assessed. The views of
tion and drainage, limited supplies of clean water, residential crowding, management. She co-wrote children in one of the designated child friendly barangays of Quezon City
a process documentation
the threat of fire and disease, lack of access to schools and health centres, research-generated
are highlighted as a sample of client assessment of government, business
victimization by corrupt politicians and criminal syndicates, and reliance publication, Life Cycle and civil society performance. Conclusions are reinforced by recom-
on the informal economy along with the good will of helpful neighbours Approach to Health Service mendations for enhanced child friendly programmes that combine
and relatives – all this called for a different way of reaching children. Delivery: The Bataraza government administrators’ and upper-middle-class civil society’s
Experiment, and supervised
Thus, the urban basic services (UBS) approach was born, initiated by a the two-volume World strengths with the capacities and interests of poor barangay children,
distinguished UNICEF New Delhi programme officer, Dr William B Bank-supported Resource youth and women and their community organizations.
Cousins. Guide for Social
Assessment, Environmental
The key characteristic of UBS was community participation – the prin- Assessment, Indigenous
ciple that urban poor residents should organize themselves to identify Peoples, and Involuntary II. THE CHILD FRIENDLY CITY: CONCEPT AND
problems and take action best suited to their needs. The leadership and Resettlement. CHARACTERISTICS
determination of poor urban women quickly came to the fore. Enlight-
Address: as Racelis above
ened government officials proved most helpful if their agency services Tel. (63-2) 426-6067 to 6068 TO BE CHILD FRIENDLY, a city must address the rights of children as
converged in the community for greater efficiency and easier manage- E-mail: ipcgigi@admu. laid out in 24 specific goals. Compliance entails reasonable levels of
ment by development workers and community residents alike. It became edu.ph health, nutrition, education, participation and protection. Beyond prior-
clear that the programme would be more successful and sustainable if itizing children’s rights to basic services, the city also reinforces the
officials listened to people’s views and addressed their priorities, while 1. Webster, Douglas, Arturo Convention on the Rights of the Child through legislation and ordi-
also obtaining their recognition of the constraints which government Corpuz and Christopher nances. It promotes the national Child Friendly Movement in situ,
faced. This multifaceted, participatory programming mode spread Pablo (with assistance from encouraging families, communities and the private sector to get involved.
quickly throughout the UNICEF programming world for poor children, the World Bank) (2002), This means placing children and youth at centre-stage through neigh-
Towards a National Urban
youth and women in cities. Development Framework for bourhoods, schools, health facilities, religious communities, workplaces
The UBS heritage of the 1980s and 1990s enabled Cebu City and Davao the Philippines: Strategic and media entities, which build child friendly outcomes into their activ-
City to begin transforming the basic services approach into the child Considerations, prepared for ities. Crucial are the actions around children actively fostered by city
the National Economic
rights agenda of child friendly cities. One important shift was the direct Development mayors and councillors, business leaders, civil society groups encom-
interaction that was now possible between UNICEF and city govern- Administration (NEDA), passing professional and civic associations, academia, the media,
ments, with the devolution of funds and authority to local officials.(2) This Government of the community-based organizations, cooperatives and labour unions. These
Philippines, page 7.
shift closer to residential neighbourhoods, or barangays (the lowest level entail not only basic services and protection from violence, abuse and
administrative governing body), has strengthened community demand 2. This resulted from the child labour but also the participation of children and youth in activities
processes. People’s organizations and civil society support groups assert passage of the Local and decisions that affect their lives.
their interests and negotiate with local officials on site. Underlying these Government Code of 1991, Linking sustainable urban systems to child friendly governance and
which devolved not only
transactions is the implied threat to elected officials that failing to key central government extending the model to other cities potentially enables many more chil-
respond satisfactorily to people’s priorities may cost them the next functions and personnel to dren to reap benefits. When national groups, such as the Council for the
election. local authorities but also Welfare of Children, assess the performance of a child friendly city, they
substantial financial
resources and control. highlight certain criteria, including higher levels of achievement in child-
b. The child friendly city study related city services compared to figures for the region and the nation,
along with continuous progress over time. Leadership by city authori-
This essay focuses on the experience of poor residents of informal settle- ties, targeted resource and investment allocations and effective mobi-
ments in five designated child friendly cities. How do children, women lization of civil society partners merit high scores. Finally, integrating the
and poor families in urban barangays fare in these cities’ approaches to new child friendly programmes supported by UNICEF and other donors
becoming child friendly? What are the clients’ reactions to city govern- into the regular city budget, enacting enabling legislation and attracting
ments’ responses to their needs, priorities and rights? A better under- additional donor support offer further proof of success. But what of the
standing of the reality of people’s lives in poor communities will go far people expected to benefit from this intensive mobilization? How are
towards enhancing child friendly partnerships among communities, their voices and those of their children heard?
NGOs, city and national governments and other concerned groups.
III. THE SOCIOPOLITICAL CONTEXT complemented the appraisals with intensive case studies in four informal
settlements, two in child friendly city barangays in Davao City and Quezon
a. The May 1 riots of 2001 City, and two in barangays in the city of Manila and Davao City, not
formally part of the child friendly programme. Limited funding did not
TO DO JUSTICE to urban poor experience and expectations, the impact allow case studies in Cebu City.
of child friendly programmes must be located within the larger socio-
political context. The May 1 siege of Malacañang Palace, residence and
workplace of the president of the Philippines, offers a good starting point. IV. BASIC SERVICES, PROTECTION AND
Mobilized by the deposed President J Estrada’s remaining supporters, PARTICIPATION IN 27 METROPOLITAN
thousands of rioting slum dwellers brought home forcefully to govern- BARANGAYS
ment officials and élites alike that the cities’ urban poor had legitimate
grievances and wanted to be heard. BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF the five cities are compared in Table 1.
Although the riots were quelled by the following day, shock waves Information on the situation of children and youth related to basic serv-
continued to reverberate throughout society for months. Most badly ices, protection and participation, derived from the rapid appraisals, is
shaken were upper- and middle-class Metro Manilans. The rhetoric presented in Table 2 (see next page).
accompanying the event blamed the uncaring and exploitative rich for
the poverty of the urban masses. The yawning gap between the rich and Table 1: Demographic information on the five CPC/CFC
the poor, proclaimed many commentators, had at last impelled margin- cities
alized urban slum dwellers to take to the streets in violent protest at their
lot. Whether or not the opposition mobilized and paid them, the embat- Cebu Davao Manila Pasay Quezon
tled urban poor demonstrated that they wanted to be heard and were
willing to risk their lives confronting heavily armed police, in order to air Population as of 1 1,147,11
718,821 1,581,082 354,908 2,173,831
May 2000* 6
their grievances.
The riots brought about a new attitude toward informal settlers and
slum dwellers, ranging from guilt at past transgressions to grudging Land area* (sq km) 280.9 2,211.3 38.3 13.9 166.2
respect mixed with apprehension over further violence. Government offi-
cials, business, NGOs and even church leaders acknowledged that they Density
3. The Child Friendly Cities as of 1 May 2000* 2,559 518.8 41,281.5 25,532.9 13,079.6
had not fully realized the depths of frustration and anger felt by the urban study is a companion piece (persons/sq km)
poor, especially young unemployed men. A host of welfare-related and to another Institute of
training activities got underway in slum communities to show poor Philippine Culture study, 140
80 (North
Bridging the Social Divide: (dist.I: 37
people that their wealthier counterparts were listening and eager to help. Urban Poor Profiles in
Number of district: 46;
180
897 200
dist.II: 28
As further protests declined, earlier fears about “class warfare” tapered barangays** South (6 districts) (7 districts)
Metro Manila, supported dist.III: 37
district: 34)
off and with them many of these hastily organized welfare projects. At by the Ford Foundation and dist.IV: 38)
the same time, the new Arroyo government took seriously the complaints begun in June 2001. The
latter research entailed SOURCES: *National Statistics Office (NSO), as cited in the 2001 Philippine Statistical Yearbook;
of the urban poor and plunged into short- and long-term approaches to household surveys, ** Official city websites
address their poverty. For the Child Friendly Cities Movement, this new participant observation, key
orientation toward equity, social justice and rights meant that urban poor informant interviews and
focus group discussions
children, youth and women could also expect to reap its benefits. with marginalized groups –
a. Basic services
including children – in
b. Learning about urban poor barangays: methodology BASECO, Manila, and Parents, along with government and support NGOs, tend to prioritize
Payatas B, Quezon City, basic services for their children over protection and participation activi-
both urban poor
It was in this promising context that the Institute of Philippine Culture communities. Because the ties. Where there was community planning, health and education domi-
initiated its study, Child Friendly Cities and Urban Poor Settlements: child friendly cities case nated the agenda, with a preference for regular, sustainable activities
Views from the Community. Begun in September 2001 and continuing studies focusing on rather than sporadic activities such as child feeding. Livelihood and
children’s responses in
into mid-2002, the research forms part of the Child Friendly Cities initia- these same communities employment also drew significant attention. Planning exercises proved
tive at UNICEF’s Innocenti Research Centre in Florence, Italy. It is also were still underway at the more effective in barangays earlier involved in CIDSS (Comprehensive and
linked to UNICEF–Manila’s country programme and to UNICEF head- time of writing, this essay Integrated Delivery of Social Services), a programme of the Department
quarters’ policy concerns.(3) draws on the results of the of Social Welfare and Development. Here, barangay officials, national
children’s focus group
The first stage of the research highlighted a rapid appraisal of govern- discussions conducted by government workers and community leaders assessed the community
ment and civil society actions and approaches to benefit children and IPC research associate situation according to 24 minimum basic needs. The habit of monitoring
youth in the five designated cities, assessing their outcomes at the Marita Concepcion Castro progress, if systematically pursued, is a valuable component in any
Guevara as part of the
community level. Davao City received particular attention because, in study, Bridging the Social programme of social services implementation.
both 2000 and 2001, it had received the Council for the Welfare of Chil- Divide: Urban Poor Profiles Of Davao City’s 180 barangays , 111 have health stations, while each of
dren’s award as the Philippines’ most child friendly city. Researchers in Metro Manila. the 11 administrative districts has at least one district health centre. Cebu
III. THE SOCIOPOLITICAL CONTEXT complemented the appraisals with intensive case studies in four informal
settlements, two in child friendly city barangays in Davao City and Quezon
a. The May 1 riots of 2001 City, and two in barangays in the city of Manila and Davao City, not
formally part of the child friendly programme. Limited funding did not
TO DO JUSTICE to urban poor experience and expectations, the impact allow case studies in Cebu City.
of child friendly programmes must be located within the larger socio-
political context. The May 1 siege of Malacañang Palace, residence and
workplace of the president of the Philippines, offers a good starting point. IV. BASIC SERVICES, PROTECTION AND
Mobilized by the deposed President J Estrada’s remaining supporters, PARTICIPATION IN 27 METROPOLITAN
thousands of rioting slum dwellers brought home forcefully to govern- BARANGAYS
ment officials and élites alike that the cities’ urban poor had legitimate
grievances and wanted to be heard. BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF the five cities are compared in Table 1.
Although the riots were quelled by the following day, shock waves Information on the situation of children and youth related to basic serv-
continued to reverberate throughout society for months. Most badly ices, protection and participation, derived from the rapid appraisals, is
shaken were upper- and middle-class Metro Manilans. The rhetoric presented in Table 2 (see next page).
accompanying the event blamed the uncaring and exploitative rich for
the poverty of the urban masses. The yawning gap between the rich and Table 1: Demographic information on the five CPC/CFC
the poor, proclaimed many commentators, had at last impelled margin- cities
alized urban slum dwellers to take to the streets in violent protest at their
lot. Whether or not the opposition mobilized and paid them, the embat- Cebu Davao Manila Pasay Quezon
tled urban poor demonstrated that they wanted to be heard and were
willing to risk their lives confronting heavily armed police, in order to air Population as of 1 1,147,11
718,821 1,581,082 354,908 2,173,831
May 2000* 6
their grievances.
The riots brought about a new attitude toward informal settlers and
slum dwellers, ranging from guilt at past transgressions to grudging Land area* (sq km) 280.9 2,211.3 38.3 13.9 166.2
respect mixed with apprehension over further violence. Government offi-
cials, business, NGOs and even church leaders acknowledged that they Density
3. The Child Friendly Cities as of 1 May 2000* 2,559 518.8 41,281.5 25,532.9 13,079.6
had not fully realized the depths of frustration and anger felt by the urban study is a companion piece (persons/sq km)
poor, especially young unemployed men. A host of welfare-related and to another Institute of
training activities got underway in slum communities to show poor Philippine Culture study, 140
80 (North
Bridging the Social Divide: (dist.I: 37
people that their wealthier counterparts were listening and eager to help. Urban Poor Profiles in
Number of district: 46;
180
897 200
dist.II: 28
As further protests declined, earlier fears about “class warfare” tapered barangays** South (6 districts) (7 districts)
Metro Manila, supported dist.III: 37
district: 34)
off and with them many of these hastily organized welfare projects. At by the Ford Foundation and dist.IV: 38)
the same time, the new Arroyo government took seriously the complaints begun in June 2001. The
latter research entailed SOURCES: *National Statistics Office (NSO), as cited in the 2001 Philippine Statistical Yearbook;
of the urban poor and plunged into short- and long-term approaches to household surveys, ** Official city websites
address their poverty. For the Child Friendly Cities Movement, this new participant observation, key
orientation toward equity, social justice and rights meant that urban poor informant interviews and
focus group discussions
children, youth and women could also expect to reap its benefits. with marginalized groups –
a. Basic services
including children – in
b. Learning about urban poor barangays: methodology BASECO, Manila, and Parents, along with government and support NGOs, tend to prioritize
Payatas B, Quezon City, basic services for their children over protection and participation activi-
both urban poor
It was in this promising context that the Institute of Philippine Culture communities. Because the ties. Where there was community planning, health and education domi-
initiated its study, Child Friendly Cities and Urban Poor Settlements: child friendly cities case nated the agenda, with a preference for regular, sustainable activities
Views from the Community. Begun in September 2001 and continuing studies focusing on rather than sporadic activities such as child feeding. Livelihood and
children’s responses in
into mid-2002, the research forms part of the Child Friendly Cities initia- these same communities employment also drew significant attention. Planning exercises proved
tive at UNICEF’s Innocenti Research Centre in Florence, Italy. It is also were still underway at the more effective in barangays earlier involved in CIDSS (Comprehensive and
linked to UNICEF–Manila’s country programme and to UNICEF head- time of writing, this essay Integrated Delivery of Social Services), a programme of the Department
quarters’ policy concerns.(3) draws on the results of the of Social Welfare and Development. Here, barangay officials, national
children’s focus group
The first stage of the research highlighted a rapid appraisal of govern- discussions conducted by government workers and community leaders assessed the community
ment and civil society actions and approaches to benefit children and IPC research associate situation according to 24 minimum basic needs. The habit of monitoring
youth in the five designated cities, assessing their outcomes at the Marita Concepcion Castro progress, if systematically pursued, is a valuable component in any
Guevara as part of the
community level. Davao City received particular attention because, in study, Bridging the Social programme of social services implementation.
both 2000 and 2001, it had received the Council for the Welfare of Chil- Divide: Urban Poor Profiles Of Davao City’s 180 barangays , 111 have health stations, while each of
dren’s award as the Philippines’ most child friendly city. Researchers in Metro Manila. the 11 administrative districts has at least one district health centre. Cebu
City’s 80 barangays are served by 75 health centres, the majority in the 50 only 20 to 30 chairs and desks. Now everyone has at least a plastic seat but only
urban barangays. Some Metro Manila barangays, in contrast, have only one some have a proper wooden desk and chair. Two students share one book; if I have
or two health centres to serve much larger populations. The doctor and it in the evening, my partner gets it in class. To make the classroom better, they
nurse generally remain in the centre, treating patients full-time and rarely should fix the chairs, put in electric fans, improve the library, fix and put locks
going out into the community. Midwives get around more, while barangay on the doors and windows to avoid theft.”
health and nutrition workers visit especially vulnerable households on Teachers. “Mostly they’re OK. They know a lot and teach straight, scolding
almost a daily basis. It is largely through the efforts of these frontline 7. There are roughly 50 those who copy or cheat on tests or don’t listen. But some gossip a lot, are late
pesos to US$ 1. As of 5
workers that health and nutrition have reached current levels. Motivated August 2002, there were and pinch or slap us. Some sell us snacks; we are not forced to buy them though.
by their small allowances and an appreciative community, they identify 51.30 pesos to US$ 1. For One teacher often falls asleep because she works all night and we have to wake
candidates for immunization, address women’s pre-natal needs, advocate most schools, such as the her up.”
Lupang Pangako
and support breastfeeding, identify children in various stages of malnu- elementary school in School fees. “We have to pay P 200 for the parents–teachers association fee,
trition and distribute vitamin A. Payatas (our study site), the P 12 for the test papers every grading period, for our ID cards, P 90 if we lose a
Barangay residents of Cebu City gave highest marks to the immuniza- cost of an ID is already schoolbook, P 290 to buy a special book and even for the toilet.”(7)
tion programme, the free medicine at barangay health centres, the feeding included in the school Health. “The barangay health centre gave me a prescription when I had
registration fee of P 50. In
and weighing of children and the day care programme, which enabled another research site measles but I had to buy the medicine. They should give free medicine. Some-
parents to work knowing their children were safe. Programmes, however, (BASECO in the city of times, the health centre gets very crowded and the lines are long. It lacks equip-
were not reaching all children, youth and women. A case in point was the Manila), children attending ment. Their machine to help asthma patients breathe was stolen. The doctor and
the local elementary school
dearth of communal toilets; although materials and funds had long been pay P 25 for the ID card. nurses are all right but there aren’t enough of them. I don’t like the dentist. When
allocated for these, densely packed barangays had difficulties finding you need a tooth removed, he’ll tell you to go buy an anaesthetic first; when you
appropriate spaces. A further worry was the lack of scholarships for poor return, he says to come back another day because he’s busy.”
families who could not afford to send their children to high school, let Potable water. “Drinking water is a problem. We buy water from big distrib-
alone college. 4. In the city of Manila, utors with delivery trucks or smaller ones with tricycles or carts. It costs P 30 a
NGOs in all city sites have added their services to those of government family planning services drum. For bathing, laundry and cleaning, we draw water from the deep well or
health centres. Organizations offering family planning services in Manila have been seriously catch rainwater in pails. We wish we could have a water pump and our own
hampered by the executive
find themselves deluged with clients no longer able to obtain assistance order banning the use of faucets. As for electricity, our parents have a hard time paying. Sometimes there’s
from centres in the city of Manila.(4) In any case, barangay citizens often artificial contraception in no current for the whole day.”
prefer private charity clinics, a number of them run by missionary groups, government health centres Dump site. “The main problem here is the garbage. It stinks. It’s also danger-
and hospitals, allegedly
saying that they are open longer hours, the personnel show them more ordered by the pro-life ous. A lot of children get sick because of the dump – diarrhoea, hepatitis, dengue,
respect and medicine is distributed either free or at minimal cost. “What mayor. wounds, diseases from inhaling the fumes. Those who earn their livelihoods there
use is a prescription if you don’t have the money to fill it?” queried one resi- should be given jobs so they won’t have to be scavengers. The men could be
dent. drivers, masons or security guards; the women could make cleaning cloths for
While elementary school enrolment is high in all five cities, numbers sale and do babysitting.”
decline as children move from one grade to the next. Poor children are the Scavenging at the dump site. “Children scavengers like us go to the dump
first to drop out. Although public schools do not charge tuition, parents 5. BASECO is the popular site every day after school, and all day on Saturdays and Sundays. We bring a
name of barangay 649, an
must still provide uniforms, shoes, supplies, lunch money and sometimes informal waterfront rake, a sack and boots. Also food. We usually wear dirty pants, long-sleeved shirts
transportation fares. The poorest children often work full-time – carrying settlement in the central and hats. On weekdays, we can collect enough to earn P 20–30 and, on weekends,
housewives’ market purchases, unloading fish at the wharf, scavenging at harbour district of Manila. P 80 each day. If we don’t go to the site, we won’t have an allowance for the next
A landfill area between two
the city dump site, loading jeepneys, pedalling a passenger tricyle. In breakwater extensions into
week at school. Some of our parents also work at the site. We like scavenging
BASECO,(5) in the city of Manila, public school ends in the fifth grade, Manila Bay, the compound because we earn from it. Sometimes, accidents happen, like when you get cut by
forcing sixth-graders to complete their elementary education in the adja- of the Bataan Shipyard and the rake. When that happens, I bandage the wound with a clean strip of cloth. The
cent barangay; as a result, a number discontinue their studies. Government Engineering Company house of a classmate of mine, also a scavenger, was buried during the landslide
(BASECO), has been
pre-schools are popular but can accept only a small proportion of eligible invaded by hundreds of and he died. His whole family died, too. I was very sad.”
children. informal settler families
who work in the company c. Protection
or on pier-related activities.
b. Children’s views of basic services in their community
6. Castro Guevara, Marita The Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC) is usually
Children’s own statements about the problems in their community offer Concepcion (2001–2002), composed of barangay councillors, health and nutrition workers, govern-
important insights. These comments were made by three sets of children, Focus Group Discussion, ment agency representatives, people’s organizations’ leaders and, occa-
Payatas B, Quezon City,
aged 8 to 12, during focus group discussions at barangay Payatas B, near from Bridging the Social sionally, children and youth. It was established to raise awareness about
the dump site of Quezon City.(6) Divide: Urban Poor Profiles child abuse and exploitation, and to bring about social transformation
School environment, sanitation and safety. “We would like our school to in Metro Manila, study for children and youth through multisectoral commitment to basic serv-
underway at the Institute of
be clean, with a playground, lots of trees and a clean toilet that doesn’t smell. Philippine Culture, Ateneo ices, protection and participation. But even children and youth consider
There should be enough seats for all the children. We are about 70 children in one de Manila University, basic services, especially education, more important than protection and
classroom (others reported 91, 82, 56, and 54.) When school began, there were Quezon City, manuscript. participation.
City’s 80 barangays are served by 75 health centres, the majority in the 50 only 20 to 30 chairs and desks. Now everyone has at least a plastic seat but only
urban barangays. Some Metro Manila barangays, in contrast, have only one some have a proper wooden desk and chair. Two students share one book; if I have
or two health centres to serve much larger populations. The doctor and it in the evening, my partner gets it in class. To make the classroom better, they
nurse generally remain in the centre, treating patients full-time and rarely should fix the chairs, put in electric fans, improve the library, fix and put locks
going out into the community. Midwives get around more, while barangay on the doors and windows to avoid theft.”
health and nutrition workers visit especially vulnerable households on Teachers. “Mostly they’re OK. They know a lot and teach straight, scolding
almost a daily basis. It is largely through the efforts of these frontline 7. There are roughly 50 those who copy or cheat on tests or don’t listen. But some gossip a lot, are late
pesos to US$ 1. As of 5
workers that health and nutrition have reached current levels. Motivated August 2002, there were and pinch or slap us. Some sell us snacks; we are not forced to buy them though.
by their small allowances and an appreciative community, they identify 51.30 pesos to US$ 1. For One teacher often falls asleep because she works all night and we have to wake
candidates for immunization, address women’s pre-natal needs, advocate most schools, such as the her up.”
Lupang Pangako
and support breastfeeding, identify children in various stages of malnu- elementary school in School fees. “We have to pay P 200 for the parents–teachers association fee,
trition and distribute vitamin A. Payatas (our study site), the P 12 for the test papers every grading period, for our ID cards, P 90 if we lose a
Barangay residents of Cebu City gave highest marks to the immuniza- cost of an ID is already schoolbook, P 290 to buy a special book and even for the toilet.”(7)
tion programme, the free medicine at barangay health centres, the feeding included in the school Health. “The barangay health centre gave me a prescription when I had
registration fee of P 50. In
and weighing of children and the day care programme, which enabled another research site measles but I had to buy the medicine. They should give free medicine. Some-
parents to work knowing their children were safe. Programmes, however, (BASECO in the city of times, the health centre gets very crowded and the lines are long. It lacks equip-
were not reaching all children, youth and women. A case in point was the Manila), children attending ment. Their machine to help asthma patients breathe was stolen. The doctor and
the local elementary school
dearth of communal toilets; although materials and funds had long been pay P 25 for the ID card. nurses are all right but there aren’t enough of them. I don’t like the dentist. When
allocated for these, densely packed barangays had difficulties finding you need a tooth removed, he’ll tell you to go buy an anaesthetic first; when you
appropriate spaces. A further worry was the lack of scholarships for poor return, he says to come back another day because he’s busy.”
families who could not afford to send their children to high school, let Potable water. “Drinking water is a problem. We buy water from big distrib-
alone college. 4. In the city of Manila, utors with delivery trucks or smaller ones with tricycles or carts. It costs P 30 a
NGOs in all city sites have added their services to those of government family planning services drum. For bathing, laundry and cleaning, we draw water from the deep well or
health centres. Organizations offering family planning services in Manila have been seriously catch rainwater in pails. We wish we could have a water pump and our own
hampered by the executive
find themselves deluged with clients no longer able to obtain assistance order banning the use of faucets. As for electricity, our parents have a hard time paying. Sometimes there’s
from centres in the city of Manila.(4) In any case, barangay citizens often artificial contraception in no current for the whole day.”
prefer private charity clinics, a number of them run by missionary groups, government health centres Dump site. “The main problem here is the garbage. It stinks. It’s also danger-
and hospitals, allegedly
saying that they are open longer hours, the personnel show them more ordered by the pro-life ous. A lot of children get sick because of the dump – diarrhoea, hepatitis, dengue,
respect and medicine is distributed either free or at minimal cost. “What mayor. wounds, diseases from inhaling the fumes. Those who earn their livelihoods there
use is a prescription if you don’t have the money to fill it?” queried one resi- should be given jobs so they won’t have to be scavengers. The men could be
dent. drivers, masons or security guards; the women could make cleaning cloths for
While elementary school enrolment is high in all five cities, numbers sale and do babysitting.”
decline as children move from one grade to the next. Poor children are the Scavenging at the dump site. “Children scavengers like us go to the dump
first to drop out. Although public schools do not charge tuition, parents 5. BASECO is the popular site every day after school, and all day on Saturdays and Sundays. We bring a
name of barangay 649, an
must still provide uniforms, shoes, supplies, lunch money and sometimes informal waterfront rake, a sack and boots. Also food. We usually wear dirty pants, long-sleeved shirts
transportation fares. The poorest children often work full-time – carrying settlement in the central and hats. On weekdays, we can collect enough to earn P 20–30 and, on weekends,
housewives’ market purchases, unloading fish at the wharf, scavenging at harbour district of Manila. P 80 each day. If we don’t go to the site, we won’t have an allowance for the next
A landfill area between two
the city dump site, loading jeepneys, pedalling a passenger tricyle. In breakwater extensions into
week at school. Some of our parents also work at the site. We like scavenging
BASECO,(5) in the city of Manila, public school ends in the fifth grade, Manila Bay, the compound because we earn from it. Sometimes, accidents happen, like when you get cut by
forcing sixth-graders to complete their elementary education in the adja- of the Bataan Shipyard and the rake. When that happens, I bandage the wound with a clean strip of cloth. The
cent barangay; as a result, a number discontinue their studies. Government Engineering Company house of a classmate of mine, also a scavenger, was buried during the landslide
(BASECO), has been
pre-schools are popular but can accept only a small proportion of eligible invaded by hundreds of and he died. His whole family died, too. I was very sad.”
children. informal settler families
who work in the company c. Protection
or on pier-related activities.
b. Children’s views of basic services in their community
6. Castro Guevara, Marita The Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC) is usually
Children’s own statements about the problems in their community offer Concepcion (2001–2002), composed of barangay councillors, health and nutrition workers, govern-
important insights. These comments were made by three sets of children, Focus Group Discussion, ment agency representatives, people’s organizations’ leaders and, occa-
Payatas B, Quezon City,
aged 8 to 12, during focus group discussions at barangay Payatas B, near from Bridging the Social sionally, children and youth. It was established to raise awareness about
the dump site of Quezon City.(6) Divide: Urban Poor Profiles child abuse and exploitation, and to bring about social transformation
School environment, sanitation and safety. “We would like our school to in Metro Manila, study for children and youth through multisectoral commitment to basic serv-
underway at the Institute of
be clean, with a playground, lots of trees and a clean toilet that doesn’t smell. Philippine Culture, Ateneo ices, protection and participation. But even children and youth consider
There should be enough seats for all the children. We are about 70 children in one de Manila University, basic services, especially education, more important than protection and
classroom (others reported 91, 82, 56, and 54.) When school began, there were Quezon City, manuscript. participation.
In Davao City, over half of the barangays have fully functioning BCPCs clean-ups. With new SK elections in July 2002, opportunities may arise for
with the rest soon to be covered. Cebu City shows a similar record. This revitalizing these groups and expanding their areas of operation. In the
is due to active NGOs, religious and other civil society groups, who have absence of functioning BCPCs and youth councils, the barangay council
helped make the BCPCs more vigilant about children’s rights. Cases filed and the national police take on the task of protecting children. More often
in defence of children jumped from 20 in 1998 to 242 in 2000. Fourteen than not, they enter the picture when confronting offenders and dealing
cases have resulted in convictions, with ten of them carrying the death with children in conflict with the law, and are regarded in a punitive light
penalty. Davao City maintains several centres catering to street boys and more than as groups with the potential for nurturing children’s rights.
girls, a crisis intervention centre for sexually abused girls, and coopera- They would benefit from listening to the children’s own views of protec-
tives with several dynamic organizations involved in programmes tion and the community’s role in providing it.
ranging from street education and drop-in centres to monitoring minors
travelling alone or working on the wharf. Tambayan, the NGO Centre for d. Children’s views of protection
the Care of Abused Children, has documented 300 cases of sexual abuse
and trafficking of minors. Over 200 child labourers engaged in hazardous Crime and violence. “This place is not safe. A lot of thieves steal appliances or
work as packers and haulers of fertilizers on the wharf have been rescued. food from local stores or groceries. When the dump site closed for a while last year,
At the same time, the current mayor’s sometimes unorthodox ways of even pots and pans were stolen from our houses. There are also killings. It starts
attacking drug dealers and pushers, kidnap gangs, criminals and unde- with stone throwing but then they start stabbing one another. Innocent people
sirables of all kinds have led to serious misgivings among human rights get beaten up but don’t know why. People even shoot another with sumpak
groups. Many NGOs and church-related groups draw the line at his treat- (home-made guns) because they hear that the other person had said bad things
ment of young people, for example, urchins caught picking pockets have about them or beat up a friend. Rival gangs often have rumbles, like the Demons
received beatings with a belt or a cow’s tail from the mayor himself, often versus the Angels.”
8. Zabriskie, Phil (2002),
in city hall. Rich kids who hot-rodded down the city streets were warned “The punisher” in Time
Rape and police protection. “You hear of young girls here who disappear
that they’d be paraded naked around town.(8) (Asia), 1 July, pages 24–26. at night, then find out the next day that they are already dead because they were
Although the mayor dismisses the allegations, critics suspect him of raped. Their bodies are just thrown over the wall over there. So we get scared.
being involved in the “disappearance” of teenage boys and girls who We’re not allowed to go out. When the rapists are arrested, our barangay officials
hang around the streets in gangs or who engage in prostitution. They put them in jail. But criminals are rarely caught. They go into hiding. Plus the
include the buntog, girls and boys as young as eight, who provide short- police are lazy. Often when they are called, they don’t respond. Some are doing
time sex in parked cars and other hiding places, often as part of the initi- their jobs but not others.”
ation rites of juvenile street gangs. Vigilante justice is also applied to Drugs. “Children our age use drugs – rugby (solvent sniffing), shabu, mari-
adolescent thieves, pickpockets and vagrants. The controversy over this juana – especially near the dump site. When they are on drugs, they start cursing
approach recently led to the withholding from Davao City of a third Most a lot. They stop reciting in class, lose their concentration and begin to act differ-
Child Friendly City award, pending verification of the allegations. ent, like talking rudely to their parents. Rugby is easy to get because it is in clean-
In Cebu City, many residents laud Bantay Banay, a community watch ing fluid. They say drugs make them feel good. They lose their hunger pangs and
group organized to fight household violence against women and children. problems disappear. Those who sell drugs to children should be arrested. Their
Incidents of abuse have dropped significantly since its inception. People houses should be raided and every corner searched to find the hiding places.”
praise the active BCPCs in two barangays and their holistic approach to Community action. “Residents should help one another. But mostly, it’s
child protection. Participation has been enhanced through energetic Sang- every person for himself. If you tell on a criminal, you could get hurt in turn. So
guniang Kabataan (SK, or barangay youth councils) in some barangays, people just stay quiet. But if people united, they could solve the problem.”
which are using their own funding allocations to spearhead Clean and The community we want. “If President Arroyo asked what she could do for
Green environmental programmes. Children and young people learning us children in Payatas, we’d say we want to go to school all the way through
how to exercise their rights and responsibilities toward the community college. We’d ask her for toys and to give street children homes. She should reha-
was flagged as a favourable outcome of the Children’s Congress and bilitate children who use rugby and punish people who sell them drugs, who rape
Youth Summit. children and make them prostitutes. We want titles to our land. She should put
Metro Manila BCPCs fall far behind their Davao City or Cebu City up a hospital, give us free groceries, fix the basketball court and get rid of the beer
counterparts. Most BCPCs in the city of Manila, Pasay City and Quezon house to build a playground there. Some of us want to get rid of the dump site but
City have hardly met. Only one, Pasay City barangay, reports a dynamic others say no, because they make their living from it. We want her to clean up
BCPC, enlivened by an active youth committee linked to other groups in Payatas, pave the roads, install streetlights, cover the open canals, collect the
the community. The BCPC apparently enhances the capacity of these garbage regularly and install roving guards at night.”
concerned groups to make a difference in addressing or preventing child
labour, gang activity, drugs and violence, and the raping of children. Most e. Participation
BCPCs have, however, failed to deal effectively with their youth
constituencies or to give particular attention to the out-of-school youth Whilst the direct participation of children and youth themselves in city
hanging around on the streets. programmes represents the apex of child friendly city effort, the active
Nor have the elected SK (youth councils) contributed much. Most involvement of adults in high-priority activities focusing on children and
rarely go beyond organizing occasional sports events and community youth also carries great weight in determining the child friendly city
In Davao City, over half of the barangays have fully functioning BCPCs clean-ups. With new SK elections in July 2002, opportunities may arise for
with the rest soon to be covered. Cebu City shows a similar record. This revitalizing these groups and expanding their areas of operation. In the
is due to active NGOs, religious and other civil society groups, who have absence of functioning BCPCs and youth councils, the barangay council
helped make the BCPCs more vigilant about children’s rights. Cases filed and the national police take on the task of protecting children. More often
in defence of children jumped from 20 in 1998 to 242 in 2000. Fourteen than not, they enter the picture when confronting offenders and dealing
cases have resulted in convictions, with ten of them carrying the death with children in conflict with the law, and are regarded in a punitive light
penalty. Davao City maintains several centres catering to street boys and more than as groups with the potential for nurturing children’s rights.
girls, a crisis intervention centre for sexually abused girls, and coopera- They would benefit from listening to the children’s own views of protec-
tives with several dynamic organizations involved in programmes tion and the community’s role in providing it.
ranging from street education and drop-in centres to monitoring minors
travelling alone or working on the wharf. Tambayan, the NGO Centre for d. Children’s views of protection
the Care of Abused Children, has documented 300 cases of sexual abuse
and trafficking of minors. Over 200 child labourers engaged in hazardous Crime and violence. “This place is not safe. A lot of thieves steal appliances or
work as packers and haulers of fertilizers on the wharf have been rescued. food from local stores or groceries. When the dump site closed for a while last year,
At the same time, the current mayor’s sometimes unorthodox ways of even pots and pans were stolen from our houses. There are also killings. It starts
attacking drug dealers and pushers, kidnap gangs, criminals and unde- with stone throwing but then they start stabbing one another. Innocent people
sirables of all kinds have led to serious misgivings among human rights get beaten up but don’t know why. People even shoot another with sumpak
groups. Many NGOs and church-related groups draw the line at his treat- (home-made guns) because they hear that the other person had said bad things
ment of young people, for example, urchins caught picking pockets have about them or beat up a friend. Rival gangs often have rumbles, like the Demons
received beatings with a belt or a cow’s tail from the mayor himself, often versus the Angels.”
8. Zabriskie, Phil (2002),
in city hall. Rich kids who hot-rodded down the city streets were warned “The punisher” in Time
Rape and police protection. “You hear of young girls here who disappear
that they’d be paraded naked around town.(8) (Asia), 1 July, pages 24–26. at night, then find out the next day that they are already dead because they were
Although the mayor dismisses the allegations, critics suspect him of raped. Their bodies are just thrown over the wall over there. So we get scared.
being involved in the “disappearance” of teenage boys and girls who We’re not allowed to go out. When the rapists are arrested, our barangay officials
hang around the streets in gangs or who engage in prostitution. They put them in jail. But criminals are rarely caught. They go into hiding. Plus the
include the buntog, girls and boys as young as eight, who provide short- police are lazy. Often when they are called, they don’t respond. Some are doing
time sex in parked cars and other hiding places, often as part of the initi- their jobs but not others.”
ation rites of juvenile street gangs. Vigilante justice is also applied to Drugs. “Children our age use drugs – rugby (solvent sniffing), shabu, mari-
adolescent thieves, pickpockets and vagrants. The controversy over this juana – especially near the dump site. When they are on drugs, they start cursing
approach recently led to the withholding from Davao City of a third Most a lot. They stop reciting in class, lose their concentration and begin to act differ-
Child Friendly City award, pending verification of the allegations. ent, like talking rudely to their parents. Rugby is easy to get because it is in clean-
In Cebu City, many residents laud Bantay Banay, a community watch ing fluid. They say drugs make them feel good. They lose their hunger pangs and
group organized to fight household violence against women and children. problems disappear. Those who sell drugs to children should be arrested. Their
Incidents of abuse have dropped significantly since its inception. People houses should be raided and every corner searched to find the hiding places.”
praise the active BCPCs in two barangays and their holistic approach to Community action. “Residents should help one another. But mostly, it’s
child protection. Participation has been enhanced through energetic Sang- every person for himself. If you tell on a criminal, you could get hurt in turn. So
guniang Kabataan (SK, or barangay youth councils) in some barangays, people just stay quiet. But if people united, they could solve the problem.”
which are using their own funding allocations to spearhead Clean and The community we want. “If President Arroyo asked what she could do for
Green environmental programmes. Children and young people learning us children in Payatas, we’d say we want to go to school all the way through
how to exercise their rights and responsibilities toward the community college. We’d ask her for toys and to give street children homes. She should reha-
was flagged as a favourable outcome of the Children’s Congress and bilitate children who use rugby and punish people who sell them drugs, who rape
Youth Summit. children and make them prostitutes. We want titles to our land. She should put
Metro Manila BCPCs fall far behind their Davao City or Cebu City up a hospital, give us free groceries, fix the basketball court and get rid of the beer
counterparts. Most BCPCs in the city of Manila, Pasay City and Quezon house to build a playground there. Some of us want to get rid of the dump site but
City have hardly met. Only one, Pasay City barangay, reports a dynamic others say no, because they make their living from it. We want her to clean up
BCPC, enlivened by an active youth committee linked to other groups in Payatas, pave the roads, install streetlights, cover the open canals, collect the
the community. The BCPC apparently enhances the capacity of these garbage regularly and install roving guards at night.”
concerned groups to make a difference in addressing or preventing child
labour, gang activity, drugs and violence, and the raping of children. Most e. Participation
BCPCs have, however, failed to deal effectively with their youth
constituencies or to give particular attention to the out-of-school youth Whilst the direct participation of children and youth themselves in city
hanging around on the streets. programmes represents the apex of child friendly city effort, the active
Nor have the elected SK (youth councils) contributed much. Most involvement of adults in high-priority activities focusing on children and
rarely go beyond organizing occasional sports events and community youth also carries great weight in determining the child friendly city
successes. Cebu City, for example, presents a more positive experience existence are mired in rote activities, with unsustainable and uninspiring
than does Metro Manila with regard to the youth councils. One chairper- results.
son has stated that: “The participation of youth in our barangay is over-
whelming. Our BCPC is functioning and has seven committees.” As a result of f. Children’s views of participation and child rights
training programmes on the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
parents are more informed of their obligations. The Health Committee Although Payatas children are stigmatized because they live near the
Chair makes it her business to develop projects for children and affirms dump site, child scavengers who make a living from it value the enor-
that her BCPC meets regularly. Assistance from UNICEF and other groups mous mountain of garbage because it is their families’ major source of
contributes significantly to the BCPC’s ability to serve its clientele. livelihood. However, some children criticize parents who deny their chil-
Another proud Cebu City barangay captain reports that they have built dren’s right to education by making them scavenge full time. As Salve
an air-conditioned day care centre complete with library and mini-play- explains:
ground. In addition to providing basic services and mothers’ classes, they “We have neighbours who make their children work. They do not send them
organize an annual children’s congress, at which children of varying ages to school. I want the parents to work, otherwise they won’t be able even to send
express their views of what a child friendly city should be and assess their their children to first grade. It’s a good thing that at least now, these neighbours
own barangay’s situation. Trisikad (small foot-pedalled vehicles) drivers are sending their 14-year-old to start grade one. Children should go to school and
have had to register to ensure that no children are among them. not work because they are still children.”
A recent accident in which a child using rugby drowned in the river Some 11 to 13-year old boys and girls in the same barangay responded
while fleeing from the local authorities led to the capture of a rugby-selling to a question on whether they were enjoying their rights. Here are the
neighbour. Residents lobbied the city council to pass an ordinance punish- voices of Cute, Ryan, Baby, Aloy and Nalyn:
ing dealers. Parents of children caught for using drugs are invited to “...not all...”; “...yes, in playing...”; “...in decision making...”; “...for some,
discussions, which often turn into counselling sessions. The captain parents are the ones who decide...”; “...the right to shelter...”; “...others are
admits that they can reach only 20 per cent of children, a far cry from the neglected...”; “...the right to education...”; “...those close to the dump site don’t
community’s needs. go to school or play...”; “...the right to have food...”; “...but some don’t eat much,
In yet another Cebu City barangay, street education programmes for some are thin...”; “...the right to be protected by the government...”; “...no, many
children are flourishing. Women have been trained in crisis intervention shabu users are not being caught, and there are many snatchers; even children
in cases involving the abuse of children or women, and are now capable are thieves...”; “...government is not helping us...”; “...those nearest the dump
of handling different kinds of cases and responding immediately when site are not being helped...”; “...the right to express one’s views? Some do not get
they hear of situations needing their attention. The barangay captain is all that chance!..”; “...some are asked to fetch water all the time, so they don’t grow
praises for the women, adding that when he is away, he does not worry well...”
because: “My barangay is in good hands. It is manned by women!” Children’s ideas, much less their participation, still rank low in the
Davao City’s efforts to enhance children’s own participation in the life barangays’ list of priorities. Most officials pay only token attention to their
of the city are still rudimentary but growing stronger. It passed the first young constituents and shrug off advocacy for children as not requiring
children’s welfare code in the nation, subsequently emulated by other their special attention. Advocacy in favour of girls draws little interest
cities. Enshrined in the code are child rights, making it easier for allies to under the assumption that Filipino culture does not discriminate between
monitor violations and establish a database for measuring progress. boys and girls. Gender issues, however, figure prominently in Cebu City
Supporting the notion of public surveillance of human rights are the new and Davao City debates, largely as a result of high levels of awareness
women’s and family codes. promoted by strong NGO advocates and supportive city administrations.
Awareness of the Convention on the Rights of the Child is fairly low
in most of the Metro Manila communities, except where neighbourhood g. Establishing a community database for monitoring
schools are active in the Child Friendly movement. There students learn progress
about the Convention through, for example, analyzing their textbooks in
child friendly terms and discussing how children’s rights can be champi- The greatest shortcoming in the child friendly city effort is the appalling
oned in everyday life. Much of this new knowledge is communicated to dearth of information on children and youth at the barangay level. Local
parents. Whilst residents cited food, shelter, clothing and education as the leaders, NGOs and concerned citizenry cannot systematically assess the
most basic rights, those able to articulate related issues and discuss other situation of their children and youth or have any reliable basis for moni-
rights were those actually carrying out programmes for children and toring progress should they take action. Even in CIDSS communities,
youth. barangay officials have generally not kept up the data after the first round
Community advocates complain that local officials’ preoccupation with of information gathering, perhaps because they are not encouraged or
political manoeuvring undermines serious attention to children and trained to use the data. Attempts to target particular groups, such as the
youth. Where officials synchronize their programmes with BCPC goals, poorest children and women, the disabled, out-of-school youth, non-
local projects flourish, drawing on the avid participation of various immunized children, or pregnant women at risk are stymied by the
groups. Where officials are seen as corrupt and engaged in politicking, unavailability of baseline data. Where rudimentary data do exist, they are
community members retreat into apathy and are reluctant to organize rarely disaggregated by gender or age. The rapid appraisal efforts of the
around children’s or any other public concerns. The few projects in research team slowed down considerably when it became clear that, with
successes. Cebu City, for example, presents a more positive experience existence are mired in rote activities, with unsustainable and uninspiring
than does Metro Manila with regard to the youth councils. One chairper- results.
son has stated that: “The participation of youth in our barangay is over-
whelming. Our BCPC is functioning and has seven committees.” As a result of f. Children’s views of participation and child rights
training programmes on the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
parents are more informed of their obligations. The Health Committee Although Payatas children are stigmatized because they live near the
Chair makes it her business to develop projects for children and affirms dump site, child scavengers who make a living from it value the enor-
that her BCPC meets regularly. Assistance from UNICEF and other groups mous mountain of garbage because it is their families’ major source of
contributes significantly to the BCPC’s ability to serve its clientele. livelihood. However, some children criticize parents who deny their chil-
Another proud Cebu City barangay captain reports that they have built dren’s right to education by making them scavenge full time. As Salve
an air-conditioned day care centre complete with library and mini-play- explains:
ground. In addition to providing basic services and mothers’ classes, they “We have neighbours who make their children work. They do not send them
organize an annual children’s congress, at which children of varying ages to school. I want the parents to work, otherwise they won’t be able even to send
express their views of what a child friendly city should be and assess their their children to first grade. It’s a good thing that at least now, these neighbours
own barangay’s situation. Trisikad (small foot-pedalled vehicles) drivers are sending their 14-year-old to start grade one. Children should go to school and
have had to register to ensure that no children are among them. not work because they are still children.”
A recent accident in which a child using rugby drowned in the river Some 11 to 13-year old boys and girls in the same barangay responded
while fleeing from the local authorities led to the capture of a rugby-selling to a question on whether they were enjoying their rights. Here are the
neighbour. Residents lobbied the city council to pass an ordinance punish- voices of Cute, Ryan, Baby, Aloy and Nalyn:
ing dealers. Parents of children caught for using drugs are invited to “...not all...”; “...yes, in playing...”; “...in decision making...”; “...for some,
discussions, which often turn into counselling sessions. The captain parents are the ones who decide...”; “...the right to shelter...”; “...others are
admits that they can reach only 20 per cent of children, a far cry from the neglected...”; “...the right to education...”; “...those close to the dump site don’t
community’s needs. go to school or play...”; “...the right to have food...”; “...but some don’t eat much,
In yet another Cebu City barangay, street education programmes for some are thin...”; “...the right to be protected by the government...”; “...no, many
children are flourishing. Women have been trained in crisis intervention shabu users are not being caught, and there are many snatchers; even children
in cases involving the abuse of children or women, and are now capable are thieves...”; “...government is not helping us...”; “...those nearest the dump
of handling different kinds of cases and responding immediately when site are not being helped...”; “...the right to express one’s views? Some do not get
they hear of situations needing their attention. The barangay captain is all that chance!..”; “...some are asked to fetch water all the time, so they don’t grow
praises for the women, adding that when he is away, he does not worry well...”
because: “My barangay is in good hands. It is manned by women!” Children’s ideas, much less their participation, still rank low in the
Davao City’s efforts to enhance children’s own participation in the life barangays’ list of priorities. Most officials pay only token attention to their
of the city are still rudimentary but growing stronger. It passed the first young constituents and shrug off advocacy for children as not requiring
children’s welfare code in the nation, subsequently emulated by other their special attention. Advocacy in favour of girls draws little interest
cities. Enshrined in the code are child rights, making it easier for allies to under the assumption that Filipino culture does not discriminate between
monitor violations and establish a database for measuring progress. boys and girls. Gender issues, however, figure prominently in Cebu City
Supporting the notion of public surveillance of human rights are the new and Davao City debates, largely as a result of high levels of awareness
women’s and family codes. promoted by strong NGO advocates and supportive city administrations.
Awareness of the Convention on the Rights of the Child is fairly low
in most of the Metro Manila communities, except where neighbourhood g. Establishing a community database for monitoring
schools are active in the Child Friendly movement. There students learn progress
about the Convention through, for example, analyzing their textbooks in
child friendly terms and discussing how children’s rights can be champi- The greatest shortcoming in the child friendly city effort is the appalling
oned in everyday life. Much of this new knowledge is communicated to dearth of information on children and youth at the barangay level. Local
parents. Whilst residents cited food, shelter, clothing and education as the leaders, NGOs and concerned citizenry cannot systematically assess the
most basic rights, those able to articulate related issues and discuss other situation of their children and youth or have any reliable basis for moni-
rights were those actually carrying out programmes for children and toring progress should they take action. Even in CIDSS communities,
youth. barangay officials have generally not kept up the data after the first round
Community advocates complain that local officials’ preoccupation with of information gathering, perhaps because they are not encouraged or
political manoeuvring undermines serious attention to children and trained to use the data. Attempts to target particular groups, such as the
youth. Where officials synchronize their programmes with BCPC goals, poorest children and women, the disabled, out-of-school youth, non-
local projects flourish, drawing on the avid participation of various immunized children, or pregnant women at risk are stymied by the
groups. Where officials are seen as corrupt and engaged in politicking, unavailability of baseline data. Where rudimentary data do exist, they are
community members retreat into apathy and are reluctant to organize rarely disaggregated by gender or age. The rapid appraisal efforts of the
around children’s or any other public concerns. The few projects in research team slowed down considerably when it became clear that, with
a few exceptions, they could not simply tap into existing data sets. A with populations of 8,600, 12,000 and 9,600, respectively.
representative survey of 26 barangays would have been far too costly and Given the very high number of poor children in Quezon City’s District
this gave them little alternative but to interview many key informants in 2 alone – an estimated 80,000 children in 32,000 households – one must
the hope of piecing together a reasonably accurate picture of the commu- ask what proportion of them are reached effectively by the city’s child
nity and its younger members. The goal of community residents moni- friendly city programme. The 2001 programme focused largely on top-
toring their own situation over time remains a distant dream. down activities: organizing some 60 poor children into a much-heralded
Pasay City came closest to having a satisfactory database. The same singing and dance troupe; assisting several children in conflict with the
data sets were gathered in all barangays and organized and filed for easy law; and supporting some 100 poor women in parenting programmes.
retrieval, making it possible to compare one barangay with another. Only These activities are a drop in the ocean considering the scale of urban
a few barangays had updated files, however. One wonders, then, how poverty here. The same applies to the other Metro Manila cities in the
valid aggregated municipal-level data are in representing the situation of study, and probably also to the rest of the cities and towns that make up
the city’s component barangays. Across the board for all cities, barangay the national capital region. The poorest populations on the outer perime-
health and nutrition workers proved most helpful in providing local data. ters of these large, crowded barangays tend to have the least access to
Yet, even they recognize that they need technical and financial assistance already overstretched health centres, schools, water taps, garbage collec-
to gather and file data for easy retrieval and use. Moreover, their data are tion and feeding points. This uneven implementation of basic service
limited to health and nutrition. delivery thus leaves a still unacceptably high proportion of children
unreached or under-served.
h. Assessing the rapid appraisal results Unless they live in designated child friendly city barangays, residents
report that barangay officials and government personnel seldom go to their
Tempting though it is to summarize the rapid appraisal results on serv- areas to listen to people or see for themselves the plight of poor settlers.
ices, protection and participation, it is also clear that the data available do After a brief flurry of interest from civil society and government after 1
not lend themselves to meaningful comparison between barangays or May 2001, most barangays slipped back into marginalized status, and resi-
cities. Comparisons based on statistics which are not comparable can only dents express strong disappointment and a feeling of betrayal. In contrast,
yield the following qualitative assessments and interpretations on what is members of organized and successful local associations exude a sense of
happening across the board. purpose, efficacy and hope, especially if they encounter accommodating
In child friendly barangays, children and women had greater access to local governments.
basic services. This stemmed in large part from UNICEF-provided medi- Pasay City shows that in child friendly sites where councils for the
cine, supplies and equipment to health centres. Child friendly city protection of children have been organized and taken seriously by the
programme funds also supported seminars and workshops on child barangay council, and where SK are exploring expanded roles in the rights
rights, teacher training, curriculum development and basic health issues. area, project planning and implementation do integrate children and
In Davao City, the government’s encouragement of NGOs, church and youth concerns into the broader governance agenda.
other faith-based groups to complement government efforts encouraged The city of Manila’s targeted child friendly city sites do provide greater
them, in turn, to ensure that services and innovative approaches were access to services and other benefits by urban poor children, youth and
genuinely benefiting poor communities. families. Again, the large areas, densities and size of the barangay popu-
Likewise, Cebu City stands out for its high levels of community organ- lation overwhelm the city’s capacity to reach all poor settlers with services
izing in urban poor neighbourhoods, where resident pressure opened up and other benefits. Even if the three Metro Manila cities showed the polit-
access to services and protection for many more children. Strong people’s ical will exhibited by Davao City and Cebu City, they would still be hard-
organizations hold barangay officials accountable for implementing basic pressed to mobilize people, given the size of their individual barangays.
services efficiently. This is the product of over 30 years of organizing Further, when a barangay is almost entirely composed of informal
efforts by NGO and grassroots bodies. Federations of people’s organiza- settlers, the power of the barangay captain becomes virtually absolute.
tions’ voters now ask municipal candidates to explain how their campaign Constituents fear retaliation if they challenge his/her actions or inaction.
platforms will help urban poor Cebu City residents. A reasonable time All too often they become pawns in a political tug of war between national
after the election, winning candidates report on how they are turning their and local officials. Barangay officials seem to feel more accountable to
promises into action. If the child friendly panel of judges were to give their mayors than they do to community organizations. Residents invari-
greater weight to community-generated participation and NGO support ably lose out through inefficient and delayed government services, exacer-
for holding the government accountable for child- and youth-focused 9. Jacinto, Mario Luis J bated by apathy and corruption, a syndrome not limited by any means to
activities, then Cebu City would win the prize easily. (2001), “The situation of the city of Manila.
In contrast to Cebu City and Davao City, the three Metro Manila coun- children and women in In Davao City, despite many praiseworthy accomplishments in basic
Davao City”, paper
terparts, for many reasons, showed less success in mobilizing around chil- presented at the Strategic services provision, protection and participation, the planning and research
dren and youth concerns. For one thing, Metro Manila’s barangays are Planning Workshop for the consultant of the award-winning city had this to say:(9)
enormous in both size and population. The five barangays with the largest Implementation of the Fifth “Not everything is rosy, though. For as long as there is a child wandering in
Country Programme for
concentrations of informal settler residents cover 2,380 hectares, with an Children, Davao City, 13–14 Davao City without a home…, the task ahead is still tremendous. For as long as
average of 105,200 persons per barangay. By contrast, the three Davao City December 2001. there are still children who die because we failed to provide the necessary health
central city barangays encompass 21 hectares, 53.6 hectares and 54 hectares, services, our work is not over yet. For as long as there are still children who are
a few exceptions, they could not simply tap into existing data sets. A with populations of 8,600, 12,000 and 9,600, respectively.
representative survey of 26 barangays would have been far too costly and Given the very high number of poor children in Quezon City’s District
this gave them little alternative but to interview many key informants in 2 alone – an estimated 80,000 children in 32,000 households – one must
the hope of piecing together a reasonably accurate picture of the commu- ask what proportion of them are reached effectively by the city’s child
nity and its younger members. The goal of community residents moni- friendly city programme. The 2001 programme focused largely on top-
toring their own situation over time remains a distant dream. down activities: organizing some 60 poor children into a much-heralded
Pasay City came closest to having a satisfactory database. The same singing and dance troupe; assisting several children in conflict with the
data sets were gathered in all barangays and organized and filed for easy law; and supporting some 100 poor women in parenting programmes.
retrieval, making it possible to compare one barangay with another. Only These activities are a drop in the ocean considering the scale of urban
a few barangays had updated files, however. One wonders, then, how poverty here. The same applies to the other Metro Manila cities in the
valid aggregated municipal-level data are in representing the situation of study, and probably also to the rest of the cities and towns that make up
the city’s component barangays. Across the board for all cities, barangay the national capital region. The poorest populations on the outer perime-
health and nutrition workers proved most helpful in providing local data. ters of these large, crowded barangays tend to have the least access to
Yet, even they recognize that they need technical and financial assistance already overstretched health centres, schools, water taps, garbage collec-
to gather and file data for easy retrieval and use. Moreover, their data are tion and feeding points. This uneven implementation of basic service
limited to health and nutrition. delivery thus leaves a still unacceptably high proportion of children
unreached or under-served.
h. Assessing the rapid appraisal results Unless they live in designated child friendly city barangays, residents
report that barangay officials and government personnel seldom go to their
Tempting though it is to summarize the rapid appraisal results on serv- areas to listen to people or see for themselves the plight of poor settlers.
ices, protection and participation, it is also clear that the data available do After a brief flurry of interest from civil society and government after 1
not lend themselves to meaningful comparison between barangays or May 2001, most barangays slipped back into marginalized status, and resi-
cities. Comparisons based on statistics which are not comparable can only dents express strong disappointment and a feeling of betrayal. In contrast,
yield the following qualitative assessments and interpretations on what is members of organized and successful local associations exude a sense of
happening across the board. purpose, efficacy and hope, especially if they encounter accommodating
In child friendly barangays, children and women had greater access to local governments.
basic services. This stemmed in large part from UNICEF-provided medi- Pasay City shows that in child friendly sites where councils for the
cine, supplies and equipment to health centres. Child friendly city protection of children have been organized and taken seriously by the
programme funds also supported seminars and workshops on child barangay council, and where SK are exploring expanded roles in the rights
rights, teacher training, curriculum development and basic health issues. area, project planning and implementation do integrate children and
In Davao City, the government’s encouragement of NGOs, church and youth concerns into the broader governance agenda.
other faith-based groups to complement government efforts encouraged The city of Manila’s targeted child friendly city sites do provide greater
them, in turn, to ensure that services and innovative approaches were access to services and other benefits by urban poor children, youth and
genuinely benefiting poor communities. families. Again, the large areas, densities and size of the barangay popu-
Likewise, Cebu City stands out for its high levels of community organ- lation overwhelm the city’s capacity to reach all poor settlers with services
izing in urban poor neighbourhoods, where resident pressure opened up and other benefits. Even if the three Metro Manila cities showed the polit-
access to services and protection for many more children. Strong people’s ical will exhibited by Davao City and Cebu City, they would still be hard-
organizations hold barangay officials accountable for implementing basic pressed to mobilize people, given the size of their individual barangays.
services efficiently. This is the product of over 30 years of organizing Further, when a barangay is almost entirely composed of informal
efforts by NGO and grassroots bodies. Federations of people’s organiza- settlers, the power of the barangay captain becomes virtually absolute.
tions’ voters now ask municipal candidates to explain how their campaign Constituents fear retaliation if they challenge his/her actions or inaction.
platforms will help urban poor Cebu City residents. A reasonable time All too often they become pawns in a political tug of war between national
after the election, winning candidates report on how they are turning their and local officials. Barangay officials seem to feel more accountable to
promises into action. If the child friendly panel of judges were to give their mayors than they do to community organizations. Residents invari-
greater weight to community-generated participation and NGO support ably lose out through inefficient and delayed government services, exacer-
for holding the government accountable for child- and youth-focused 9. Jacinto, Mario Luis J bated by apathy and corruption, a syndrome not limited by any means to
activities, then Cebu City would win the prize easily. (2001), “The situation of the city of Manila.
In contrast to Cebu City and Davao City, the three Metro Manila coun- children and women in In Davao City, despite many praiseworthy accomplishments in basic
Davao City”, paper
terparts, for many reasons, showed less success in mobilizing around chil- presented at the Strategic services provision, protection and participation, the planning and research
dren and youth concerns. For one thing, Metro Manila’s barangays are Planning Workshop for the consultant of the award-winning city had this to say:(9)
enormous in both size and population. The five barangays with the largest Implementation of the Fifth “Not everything is rosy, though. For as long as there is a child wandering in
Country Programme for
concentrations of informal settler residents cover 2,380 hectares, with an Children, Davao City, 13–14 Davao City without a home…, the task ahead is still tremendous. For as long as
average of 105,200 persons per barangay. By contrast, the three Davao City December 2001. there are still children who die because we failed to provide the necessary health
central city barangays encompass 21 hectares, 53.6 hectares and 54 hectares, services, our work is not over yet. For as long as there are still children who are
forced to work to help augment family income, we can never be complacent. For revitalize commitments to the most vulnerable sectors. Moreover,
as long as there is still a child who would just look at other children enjoying the involved local groups can multiply the impact of government
benefits of being in school, the challenge remains. We have to continue to put programmes by enhancing their successes.
priority on upholding the rights of the children, as the future of our city lies in With strong community organizations developing inclusive and effec-
their hands.” tive programmes, evaluators of child friendly cities can examine not only
the achievements claimed by officials but also solicit the views of client-
residents. Virtually no community respondents interviewed for the study
V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS had heard the term “child friendly cities” but that does not mean that the
benefits are not reaching people: they are. However, except in Cebu City,
TO ENSURE THAT child friendly cities are as child friendly as possible, this is happening in a top-down, trickle-down fashion with limited reach.
the efforts and assessments of city officials together with their NGO and A major cause of concern is what happens when UNICEF moves its
business partners must be combined with those of the urban community contributions elsewhere. Cebu City and Davao City have managed to
for whom they are intended. Some recommendations follow. incorporate many child friendly components into their own budgets and
Reduce the uneven spread of benefits within each city and within solicit more resources from impressed donors.
each barangay. Even cities dubbed child friendly vary greatly in fulfill-
ing expectations. Limited programmes with top-down approaches all too
often rest on their laurels once they have some results. In reality, they VI. FINAL REFLECTIONS
reach only a small proportion of the needy. Community residents know
best how well programmes are working and the extent of their coverage. WITH SOME VARIATIONS, child friendly cities have done reasonably
Any assessments of effectiveness must consider not only reports from city well in revitalizing the city as a new protector and partner. But the Metro
hall but also the views of community beneficiaries. Manila cities, especially, still have far to go. In support of this, large metro-
Uneven coverage also results when patronage politics plays a role in politan barangays need to be broken down into operating units based on
resource allocation. Organized groups can make a difference by calling natural neighbourhood clusters. Furthermore, the unwieldy size,
into question the criteria for choice and by negotiating for better solutions. membership and selection criteria of the BCPC need serious re-examina-
Further, the weak information system makes it virtually impossible for tion and reorganization. Many children, youth and women have still not
development workers to target the poorest and most vulnerable groups been adequately or systematically reached by child friendly city activi-
and to monitor progress. This handicap applies to all five cities. The pres- ties. Despite the rhetoric of participation and, again, with the exception
ence of working BCPCs would greatly improve convergence in planning of Cebu City, community views and voices are generally missing in city
and implementation. development processes. Enabling client-groups to contribute to an overall
Establish a sound database, focusing on the poorest and most vulner- assessment of child friendly programmes is imperative before any city can
able groups. A sound and updated database on children, youth and be regarded as child friendly.
women should be organized with the participation of local people, The May 1 riots of 2001 and the rhetoric of urban class warfare they
assisted by government, business and civil society groups. Young people engendered highlighted as never before the sharp contrasts between the
from the community, capable of being trained in computer database lives and outlooks of the rich, the middle class and the poor. Social
development, might well be asked to volunteer, and perhaps given small activists warn that unless government, élites and society at large enable
food and transport allowances. Informal settlers themselves, with NGO, the poor to achieve reasonable levels of well-being, city residents can only
city and external support, can develop and monitor more responsive look forward to violence and unrest in the years to come. The months
programmes and contribute to a sounder understanding of all vulnera- since that fateful Labour Day have ushered in a new era of listening to
ble groups in their community. poor people and of greater government response to the demands of
Monitoring should look not only at coverage but also at groups falling emboldened, organized urban poor groups. Events have shown that, in
outside programme activities and the reasons for their exclusion. Even in the end, authorities respond when they are pressured into prioritizing the
poor communities, several levels and categories of marginality exist. concerns of the poor. Perhaps it is time the model of a child friendly city
Children can usually articulate who the poorest and most marginalized be turned the other way around: let government work with organized
are – those who often eat only once a day, who do not go to school, who community groups to plan and carry out their agendas for child friendly
have only one set of clothing, no shoes and are dirty because they lack change.
water. This heightened awareness of differences within the community In this way, perhaps eight-year-old Mary Rose of Payatas can experi-
allows for rapid identification of the greatest levels of need. Partners can ence the rights she believes are most important after all: “To have dreams
then be tapped for a growing roster of resource providers, even as the city and ambitions.”
government itself allocates larger portions of its budget to child services,
protection and participation.
Support community organizing and civil society involvement.
Communities whose members organize to pursue their interests are more
likely to take part in and sustain child friendly activities. The energy
unleashed and the effective planning that becomes possible can help
forced to work to help augment family income, we can never be complacent. For revitalize commitments to the most vulnerable sectors. Moreover,
as long as there is still a child who would just look at other children enjoying the involved local groups can multiply the impact of government
benefits of being in school, the challenge remains. We have to continue to put programmes by enhancing their successes.
priority on upholding the rights of the children, as the future of our city lies in With strong community organizations developing inclusive and effec-
their hands.” tive programmes, evaluators of child friendly cities can examine not only
the achievements claimed by officials but also solicit the views of client-
residents. Virtually no community respondents interviewed for the study
V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS had heard the term “child friendly cities” but that does not mean that the
benefits are not reaching people: they are. However, except in Cebu City,
TO ENSURE THAT child friendly cities are as child friendly as possible, this is happening in a top-down, trickle-down fashion with limited reach.
the efforts and assessments of city officials together with their NGO and A major cause of concern is what happens when UNICEF moves its
business partners must be combined with those of the urban community contributions elsewhere. Cebu City and Davao City have managed to
for whom they are intended. Some recommendations follow. incorporate many child friendly components into their own budgets and
Reduce the uneven spread of benefits within each city and within solicit more resources from impressed donors.
each barangay. Even cities dubbed child friendly vary greatly in fulfill-
ing expectations. Limited programmes with top-down approaches all too
often rest on their laurels once they have some results. In reality, they VI. FINAL REFLECTIONS
reach only a small proportion of the needy. Community residents know
best how well programmes are working and the extent of their coverage. WITH SOME VARIATIONS, child friendly cities have done reasonably
Any assessments of effectiveness must consider not only reports from city well in revitalizing the city as a new protector and partner. But the Metro
hall but also the views of community beneficiaries. Manila cities, especially, still have far to go. In support of this, large metro-
Uneven coverage also results when patronage politics plays a role in politan barangays need to be broken down into operating units based on
resource allocation. Organized groups can make a difference by calling natural neighbourhood clusters. Furthermore, the unwieldy size,
into question the criteria for choice and by negotiating for better solutions. membership and selection criteria of the BCPC need serious re-examina-
Further, the weak information system makes it virtually impossible for tion and reorganization. Many children, youth and women have still not
development workers to target the poorest and most vulnerable groups been adequately or systematically reached by child friendly city activi-
and to monitor progress. This handicap applies to all five cities. The pres- ties. Despite the rhetoric of participation and, again, with the exception
ence of working BCPCs would greatly improve convergence in planning of Cebu City, community views and voices are generally missing in city
and implementation. development processes. Enabling client-groups to contribute to an overall
Establish a sound database, focusing on the poorest and most vulner- assessment of child friendly programmes is imperative before any city can
able groups. A sound and updated database on children, youth and be regarded as child friendly.
women should be organized with the participation of local people, The May 1 riots of 2001 and the rhetoric of urban class warfare they
assisted by government, business and civil society groups. Young people engendered highlighted as never before the sharp contrasts between the
from the community, capable of being trained in computer database lives and outlooks of the rich, the middle class and the poor. Social
development, might well be asked to volunteer, and perhaps given small activists warn that unless government, élites and society at large enable
food and transport allowances. Informal settlers themselves, with NGO, the poor to achieve reasonable levels of well-being, city residents can only
city and external support, can develop and monitor more responsive look forward to violence and unrest in the years to come. The months
programmes and contribute to a sounder understanding of all vulnera- since that fateful Labour Day have ushered in a new era of listening to
ble groups in their community. poor people and of greater government response to the demands of
Monitoring should look not only at coverage but also at groups falling emboldened, organized urban poor groups. Events have shown that, in
outside programme activities and the reasons for their exclusion. Even in the end, authorities respond when they are pressured into prioritizing the
poor communities, several levels and categories of marginality exist. concerns of the poor. Perhaps it is time the model of a child friendly city
Children can usually articulate who the poorest and most marginalized be turned the other way around: let government work with organized
are – those who often eat only once a day, who do not go to school, who community groups to plan and carry out their agendas for child friendly
have only one set of clothing, no shoes and are dirty because they lack change.
water. This heightened awareness of differences within the community In this way, perhaps eight-year-old Mary Rose of Payatas can experi-
allows for rapid identification of the greatest levels of need. Partners can ence the rights she believes are most important after all: “To have dreams
then be tapped for a growing roster of resource providers, even as the city and ambitions.”
government itself allocates larger portions of its budget to child services,
protection and participation.
Support community organizing and civil society involvement.
Communities whose members organize to pursue their interests are more
likely to take part in and sustain child friendly activities. The energy
unleashed and the effective planning that becomes possible can help

Child Rights For Urban Poor Children in Child Friendly Philippine Cities: Views From The Community

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CHILD FRIENDLY CITIES

Child rights for urban poor

Mary Racelis and

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