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Dinky denies DSWD locking up street kids for papal visit
By XIANNE ARCANGEL, GMA News
(Updated 5:28 p.m.) Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman on Thursday denied that her agency is rounding up and locking away street children in Metro Manila to prevent them from being seen by Pope Francis.
Soliman made the clarification following the British tabloid The Daily Mail’s publication of a report alleging that Filipino social workers have been picking up street children off the streets and keeping them in detention to make Metro Manila more presentable for the papal visit.
“The accusation we’re hiding street children so they can’t be seen by the Pope isn’t true. We actually insisted that they be part of the papal activities,” she told GMA News Online in a phone interview.
According to Soliman, a total of 440 children who have been turned over to DSWD will be part of the send-off for Pope Francis on Jan. 19. The children have been rehearsing a song to present to the pontiff for several days, she said.
Soliman said she has sent DSWD personnel to Bahay Pag-asa in Pasig City and House of Hope in Parañaque City— which were some of the shelters mentioned in the tabloid article— to check if they are keeping street children in detention, as the report claimed.
Dated photos
The Daily Mail showed photos of street kids behind bars, which it claimed were proof that they were indeed being detained at the shelters.
Soliman, however, said the photos— including one showing a malnourished child lying on the floor of a shelter— are old.
The malnourished child, which she identified as “Frederico,” was already transferred to a non-government organization after news about his maltreatment at the Reception and Action Center (RAC) in Manila broke out in October last year.
“I confirm that some of the photos used in that article were that of RAC but they are pictures from the past. Si Frederico, October pa naibalita ‘yung kalagayan niya. He is already being taken cared of at an NGO facility,” she said.
DSWD is currently in the process of transferring children out of RAC so the center can be closed by end of January, Soliman added.
Years-long program
While Soliman confirmed that DSWD has been rescuing children found begging on the streets during the holiday season, she said the initiative, known as the Comprehensive Program for Street Children, Families and Indigenous Peoples, has been existing since 2011.
The Daily Mail report quoted Pasay City Social Welfare Development head Rosalinda Orobia as telling the Manila Standard, a Philippine broadsheet, that local social workers have been rounding up street children for weeks because they might be targeted by syndicates for the papal visit.
Referring to Orobia’s statement, Soliman said: “I don’t know why she says this is for the papal visit. We’ve been doing this long before the Pope even announced he is coming and it will continue even after the papal visit.”
Under the program, children who are found caroling, asking for alms or dwelling on the streets are returned to their families, who receive counseling, medical assistance, and are subsequently included in the Modified Conditional Cash Transfer for Homeless Street Families (MCCT-HSF) program.
In case rescued children have no relatives, they are turned over to DSWD centers and shelter facilities for proper intervention.
Christmas party
For the holiday season last year, DSWD held a Christmas party for 1,000 rescued children on Malacañang grounds, with no less than President Benigno Aquino III as the special guest.
Soliman expressed surprise the report about the alleged detention of street children in shelter facilities was released in time for the start of Pope Francis’ five-day state and pastoral visit.
“I’m not saying there are no problems with our program, but it’s not as if it’s the first time we’re doing this. It’s unfortunate we have to explain the program in this context,” she said.
Soliman made the clarification following the British tabloid The Daily Mail’s publication of a report alleging that Filipino social workers have been picking up street children off the streets and keeping them in detention to make Metro Manila more presentable for the papal visit.
“The accusation we’re hiding street children so they can’t be seen by the Pope isn’t true. We actually insisted that they be part of the papal activities,” she told GMA News Online in a phone interview.
According to Soliman, a total of 440 children who have been turned over to DSWD will be part of the send-off for Pope Francis on Jan. 19. The children have been rehearsing a song to present to the pontiff for several days, she said.
Soliman said she has sent DSWD personnel to Bahay Pag-asa in Pasig City and House of Hope in Parañaque City— which were some of the shelters mentioned in the tabloid article— to check if they are keeping street children in detention, as the report claimed.
Dated photos
The Daily Mail showed photos of street kids behind bars, which it claimed were proof that they were indeed being detained at the shelters.
Soliman, however, said the photos— including one showing a malnourished child lying on the floor of a shelter— are old.
The malnourished child, which she identified as “Frederico,” was already transferred to a non-government organization after news about his maltreatment at the Reception and Action Center (RAC) in Manila broke out in October last year.
“I confirm that some of the photos used in that article were that of RAC but they are pictures from the past. Si Frederico, October pa naibalita ‘yung kalagayan niya. He is already being taken cared of at an NGO facility,” she said.
DSWD is currently in the process of transferring children out of RAC so the center can be closed by end of January, Soliman added.
Years-long program
While Soliman confirmed that DSWD has been rescuing children found begging on the streets during the holiday season, she said the initiative, known as the Comprehensive Program for Street Children, Families and Indigenous Peoples, has been existing since 2011.
The Daily Mail report quoted Pasay City Social Welfare Development head Rosalinda Orobia as telling the Manila Standard, a Philippine broadsheet, that local social workers have been rounding up street children for weeks because they might be targeted by syndicates for the papal visit.
Referring to Orobia’s statement, Soliman said: “I don’t know why she says this is for the papal visit. We’ve been doing this long before the Pope even announced he is coming and it will continue even after the papal visit.”
Under the program, children who are found caroling, asking for alms or dwelling on the streets are returned to their families, who receive counseling, medical assistance, and are subsequently included in the Modified Conditional Cash Transfer for Homeless Street Families (MCCT-HSF) program.
In case rescued children have no relatives, they are turned over to DSWD centers and shelter facilities for proper intervention.
Orabia, for her part, denied ordering local social workers to round street children up as preparation for the papal visit. She pointed out that the photo in the article showing children looking outside the window of a police precinct was taken in Parañaque City, not Pasay City.
“We conduct daily rescue operations for children who are on the streets but there’s no such thing as a massive special operation to round children up for the papal visit,” she said in a phone interview.
For the holiday season last year, DSWD held a Christmas party for 1,000 rescued children on Malacañang grounds, with no less than President Benigno Aquino III as the special guest.
Soliman expressed surprise the report about the alleged detention of street children in shelter facilities was released in time for the start of Pope Francis’ five-day state and pastoral visit.
“I’m not saying there are no problems with our program, but it’s not as if it’s the first time we’re doing this. It’s unfortunate we have to explain the program in this context,” she said.
No conclusive evidence
Catherine Scerri, deputy director of charitable organization Bahay Tuluyan, said the center has no evidence that there has been an intensified campaign to keep street children off the streets for the papal visit.
However, she stood by her statement to The Daily Mail that rescue operations conducted by some local governments sometimes tend to become more aggressive ahead of visits by foreign dignitaries or very important persons (VIPs), as shown by the center’s research.
“That was the case when President Obama visited the Philippines last year. The national government might not have given the directive but sometimes their real intention does not trickle down to the grassroots level. The children who were rescued [in the run-up to Obama’s visit] were given the impression they were kept off the streets because of his arrival,” she said.
Francis Bernido, executive director of Preda Foundation that rescued Mak-Mak, the street kid who had been staying at House of Hope for weeks according to the Daily Mail report, likewise said there is no conclusive evidence to confirm the boy was rescued as part of preparations for the papal visit.
“While it’s highly probable, we don’t have any study to confirm authorities put more children in shelters so they won’t be seen by Pope Francis,” he said. — KBK/RSJ, GMA News
Tags: dswd, dinkysoliman
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