Strengthening Local Governance: Crafting Ordinances to Eliminate WFCL
This [ordinance] will ensure that every child in our barangay can grow up in a safe, nurturing environment.
— Alfie Duran, barangay councilor
Alfie Duran is a barangay (village in Filipino) kagawad (councilor) of Poblacion 1, Tinago in Dumaguete, Philippines. Responsible for adopting measures to help improve the lives of members of the community, he is also the focal person of the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC) and president of a local LGBTI organisation.
He and his colleagues are concerned with WFCL in their area, which is exacerbated by children staying out late at night, unregulated cheap internet cafes, and a thriving tourism industry. Like most local officials, Kagawad Alfie required assistance to address this concern.
Technical assistance
Terre des Hommes Netherlands partner Children’s Legal Bureau organised a series of project interventions such as legal literacy training and community forums, that helped local officials become more aware of WFCL and the lack of community mechanisms and protocols to handle such cases. These interventions culminated in an intensive workshop that produced a draft ordinance establishing a Barangay Council Against Trafficking (BCAT).
“By creating an ordinance against child trafficking, we can provide stronger protection, raise awareness, and create a united front in combating this grave issue,” explains Alfie.
A little push
Unlike national lawmakers, barangay officials typically do not have huge offices or access to knowledgeable technical staff. Neither do they have the budget for public hearings, fact-finding missions, or resource persons. Funding the logistics and organisation of the local legislative process – from initial meetings to the actual drafting of the laws and related material – proved to be useful.
From bringing in subject matter experts to providing a literal venue to gather stakeholders to write a draft ordinance, simple interventions do go a long way. Like other participants who need training to augment their skills and allowances to tide them over, local officials also benefit from financial, logistical, and technical support.
The way forward
Apart from establishing a local council against trafficking, the ordinance also defines relevant terms and acts, mandates aftercare and reintegration for survivors, and appropriates funds to do this from the barangay’s budget.
As of publication, the draft ordinance is on its third (final) reading by the Barangay Council and will be submitted to the City Council of Dumaguete City for review and approval. Other barangays, namely Looc, Candau-ay, and Calindagan, whose representatives attended the writeshop, are also drafting their own ordinances.
Kagawad Alfie, co-author Kagawad Eduardo Eri, and the barangay’s VAWC (Violence Against Women and Children) officer Saulo Paul Baybay are hopeful that through this ordinance “…we can provide stronger protection, raise awareness, and create a united front in combating this grave issue.
