ILOILO City – Help is just a call away, according to the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6). It encourages victims of child abuse to surface and report.
“We are concerned that others may not be able to come out,” said Police Lieutenant Colonel Arnel Solis, PRO-6 spokesperson.
He urged the barangays to beef up their anti-child abuse campaign, although cases of violence against children in Western Visayas dropped by 23.15 percent this year.
“Malaking tulong sa aming mga pulis kapag ang barangay ay aktibo para pangalagaan ang karapatan ng mga bata,” Solis told Panay News.
November is National Children’s Month.
Between January and October this year, a total of 999 cases were recorded while 1,300 in the same period last year, data from PRO-6 showed.
The top 3 areas in Western Visayas recording the most violations this year were:
* Iloilo province – 299 cases (13.58-percent decrease from 2020)
* Negros Occidental – 233 cases (21.55-percent decrease)
* Iloilo City – 196 cases (25.19-percent decrease)
PRO-6 records also showed a total of 571 cases for violation of Republic Act (RA) 7610 or the special protection of children against child abuse, exploitation and discrimination were recorded this year – 22.52 percent lower than last year’s 737.
Meanwhile, 286 cases were logged for violation of RA 8353 (Anti-Rape Law of 1997), a 9.78-percent drop from last year’s 317.
According to Solis, the decrease can be attributed to coronavirus disease pandemic-induced restrictions such as the ban on alcohol consumption.
“Usually, a child was abused by drunken suspects. The liquor ban was really a big help in the decline in child abuse cases,” Solis said.
Personnel of the Women and Children Protection Desk also campaign for children’s rights and awareness against online sexual exploitation./PN
