by Gladys Fe Montebon | @gladys_TRL
November 28, 2022
Celebrating the rights and needs of the Santa Maria youth this 30th National Children's Month, the municipality spearheaded its 2nd Children’s Congress at the municipal gymnasium, November 28.
LOOK: Students lined up for registration of their attendance. Photos by: Josefina Macaranas
Hundreds of students and teachers from Catmon National High School, Pulong Buhangin National High School, Parada National High School, Fortunato F Halili National Agricultural School, San Vicente Elementary School, Caypombo Elementary School and Cornelia M. De Jesus Memorial School as well as district supervisors, and child development workers have gathered to raise awareness to children’s rights, health, and protection.
WATCH: Kids from Caypombo Elementary School led the students in a zumba performance. The performance served as the official start of the program.
With the theme, "Kalusugan, Kaisipan at Kapakanan ng Bawat Bata Ating Tutukan,” the highlights of the event was the State of Children Address and short lectures of two public health nurses on topics such as reproductive health, adolescent issues and as well as drug awareness for children and youth.
In his brief talk titled "Adolescent Confrontation: Usap Tayo Ato at Nene," public health nurse Pelagio Perez discusses the significant adolescent challenges and shares his advocacy on reproduction and adolescent health.
Nurse Perez spoke to the children about the value of adult guidance, especially during the adolescent stage of development, and how he thought it was crucial to pay more attention to youth reproductive health issues after Santa Maria was identified as having the highest rate of teenage pregnancies
On the other hand, in his brief presentation on drug awareness, Roland Bien Mendoza—another public health nurse and the second guest speaker—highlighted the dangers of consuming gateway drugs such as alcohol and cigarettes.
Nurse Mendoza warns the students to avoid drinking because excessive alcohol consumption causes liver and kidney problems; and to avoid smoking, especially e-cigarettes, due to the number of lung diseases associated with the rise of e-cigarette smoking among the youth and children.
Meanwhile, Sophia Chloe Pineda, child representative of the local municipality said in her State of Children Address, “Isa sa epekto ng COVID 19 ay ang pagsasara ng mga paaralan at ito po ay naging mahirap para sa aming mga bata… Ang Kagawaran ng Edukasyon, [mga] paaralan at guro ay gumawa ng mga paraan upang ang mga bata ay makapag aral kahit kami ay nasa bahay lamang. [Kaya] kami po ay nagpapasalamat sapagkat kami ay patuloy na nakakatanggap ng edukasyon sa kabila ng pandemiya.”
Wrapping up the 2nd Children's Congress, the head of the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office, Sandra Fabi, delivered the closing remarks.
She stated that on November 11, a children's congress was held with children from daycare centers, and today, to improve the celebration, the second children's congress was held with elementary and high school students, which led Santa Maria to take first place in the seal of child-friendly local governance.
“Ang Santa Maria ay nangunguna pagdating sa [pagiging] child friendly municipality dahil sa inyong partisipasyon. Ibig sabihin, ipinapakita natin na nagkakaisa tayo dito lalo na sa mga karapatan ng mga bata.” MSWDO head Fabi said.
Mayor Omeng Ramos, Vice Mayor Pablo Juan, local councilors Fe Ramos, Neil Mateo, Froilan Caguiat, Mac Clemente, and Nelson Luciano were also present at the event and urged the students to continue being role models, study hard, and challenged them to apply what they had learned in this seminar. Hon. Mark Christian Marquez, Chairman Committee of Youth, Sports, and Social Services, was also present at the event.
Santa Maria was the first municipality in Bulacan to host the Children's Congress with participation from students in elementary and high schools rather than just daycare centers. After several years of pandemic restrictions, the event will once again be observed in-person this year.
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