BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
ILOILO City – Most of the child abuse victims registered with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Western Visayas were victims of sex predators.
The department’s Protective Service Unit recorded 28 cases of children in need of special protection (CNSP) all over the region since last year.
Of these, 20 were sex abuse cases, said Rosario San Agustin, social welfare officer V.
“Other cases were those of children physically abused and neglected,” said San Agustin.
The absence of a nurturing mother and pornography were the main reasons for most the sex abuse cases, she said.
The mothers were usually away from home working somewhere when the abuse happened.
Pornography, on the other hand, had become more accessible now through the print and social media, said San Agustin.
She stressed the importance of a mother’s presence to protect children from sexual abuse either by family members, relatives or outsiders.
“The responsibility should be on the mother. She has to do something to prevent her children from being sexually abused,” San Agustin said.
She also clarified that the two most recent incent abuse cases – one in Miag-ao, Iloilo and another in Dumangas, Iloilo – were not yet included in the 28 child abuses cases that DSWD Region 6 had recorded.
In the Miag-ao case, the suspect was a 40-year-old father. His daughter was 16. In the Dumangas case, the suspect was a 60-year-old grandfather. His granddaughter was 16.
At the time of the rapes in these cases, the suspects and victims were all alone in the house. The
DSWD has programs that could help families in this kind of situation, said San Agustin, such as the “Parent Effective Services” and the “Family Development Sessions” for beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
“The programs tackle responsible parenthood, husband-wife relationship and children relationship, among others,” said San Agustin.
DSWD Region 6 also has a facility for abused girls in Cabatuan, Iloilo. At present, it has 17 clients.
According to the acting center head Rosalina Lorgue, “90 percent” of them were sexually abused, and majority came from the province of Iloilo./PN
