The Rights of the Child:

Implementation
I. Introduction

Here in the Philippines, many sexually exploited children

are from impoverishedvillage from the countryside. Some
children are being kidnapped by pimps andmiddlemen
who would sell them for some money. In other cases,
parents are beingtricked by bar owners who would
usually promise their children some
educationalopportunities and attractive jobs in the cities.
In other instances still, parents sold their children
outright. They pledge or trade their children to some
agents or factory ownersfor some small loans which they
never had the intention to pay. Aside from the
physicaland psychological damages sexually exploited
children faces, there is also the increasingchance of
becoming infected with HIV.
Protecting the children from being abuse is so much like
ensuring that there will be a healthy generations to
succeed us. We need not leaders and members in our
societieswho were scarred by traumatic experience in the
hands of the older generation butcitizens who were
nurtured by love. A generation who cherished memories
of a pleasantchildhood will reciprocate by giving care and
respect for senior citizens. A breakdown of such
relationship between generations will erode the very
fabric of society.
II. Definition of Terms

A. Child - Biologically, a child is generally a human

between the stages of birth and puberty.
B. Rights - Rights are legal, social or ethical principles of
freedom or entitlement; that is,rights are fundamental
normative rules about what is allowed at people or owed
to people according to some legal system, social
convention or ethical theory
.C. Child Abuse - Is the physical, sexual, emotional
mistreatment, or neglect of a child

III. Development of the Institution of Childrens'

Rights

The International Convention on the Rights of the

Children, of which thePhilippines was one of the 1st
signatories, protects the physical, emotional, moral
andintellectual well-being of the child. Realizing the
vulnerability of the young person, theConvention requires
the state to play an active role in defending these rights.
ThePhilippines is supposed to be the one of the most
responsive countries in terms of legislation for childrens'
rights.
Furthermore, the Philippine Constitution is perhaps the
only fundamental law inthe world that has specific
provisions on the rights of the children to assistance
including proper care and nutrition, and special protection
from all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty,exploitation, and
other conditions prejudicial to their development.

IV. The Childrens' Rights

ART. 3. Rights of the Child. All children shall be entitled

to the rights hereinset forth without distinction as to
legitimacy or illegitimacy, sex, social status, religion,
political antecedents, and other factors.
(1) Every child is endowed with the dignity and worth of a
human being from themoment of his conception, as
generally accepted in medical parlance, and has,
therefore,the right to be born well.
(2) Every child has the right to a wholesome family life
that will provide him withlove, care and understanding,
guidance and counseling, and moral and material
security.
(2.1)The dependent or abandoned child shall be provided
with the nearestsubstitute for a home.
(3) Every child has the right to a well-rounded
development of his personality tothe end that he may
become a happy, useful and active member of society.
(3.1)The gifted child shall be given opportunity and
encouragement to develop hisspecial talents.
(3.2)The emotionally disturbed or socially maladjusted
child shall be treated withsympathy and understanding,
and shall be entitled to treatment and competent care.
(3.3)The physically or mentally handicapped child shall be
given the treatment,education and care required by his
particular condition.
(4) Every child has the right to a balanced diet, adequate
clothing, sufficientshelter, proper medical attention, and
all the basic physical requirements of a healthy and
vigorous life.
(5) Every child has the right to be brought up in an
atmosphere of morality andrectitude for the enrichment
and the strengthening of his character.
(6) Every child has the right to an education
commensurate with his abilities andto the development
of his skills for the improvement of his capacity for
service to himself and to his fellowmen.
(7) Every child has the right to full opportunities for safe
and wholesomerecreation and activities, individual as well
as social, for the wholesome use of his leisurehours.
(8) Every child has the right to protection against
exploitation, improper influences, hazards, and other
conditions or circumstances prejudicial to his
physical,mental, emotional, social and moral
development.
(9) Every child has the right to live in a community and a
society that can offer him an environment free from
pernicious influences and conducive to the promotion of
his health and the cultivation of his desirable traits and
attributes.
(10) Every child has the right to the care, assistance, and
protection of the State, particularly when his parents or
guardians fail or are unable to provide him with
hisfundamental needs for growth, development, and
improvement.
(11) Every child has the right to an efficient and honest
government that willdeepen his faith in democracy and
inspire him with the morality of the constitutedauthorities
both in their public and private lives.
(12) Every child has the right to grow up as a free
individual, in an atmosphere of peace, understanding,
tolerance, and universal brotherhood, and with the
determination tocontribute his share in the building of a
better world.

V. Government's Support for the Implementations

of these Rights

A.DSWD - The Department of Social Welfare and

Development is the executivedepartment of the
Philippine Government responsible for the protection of
the socialwelfare rights of Filipinos and to promote social
development.
B. DOH - The Department of Health is the executive
department of the PhilippineGovernment responsible for
ensuring access to basic public health services to
allFilipinos through the provision of quality health care
and the regulation of providersof health goods and
services.
C. DepEd - The Department of Education is the executive
department of the Philippinegovernment responsible for
the management and governing of the Philippine
systemof basic education. It is the chief formulator of
Philippine educational policy and isresponsible for the
Philippine primary and secondary school system.

VI. Example of Cases against Childrens' Right

DSWD guards face child abuse raps

Cebu Daily News
9:01 am | Sunday, May 15th, 2011
Two security guards assigned at the Department
of Social Welfare andDevelopment (DSWD) were charged
in court last Friday for allegedly molesting a 13-year-old
girl.
 Rolito Caete was indicted for violating Republic
Act 7610 or the Anti-ChildAbuse Law while Joseph
Fernandez is facing three counts of the same offense.
Bail was set at P200, 000 for each suspect.
Cebu City Assistant Prosecutor Ricky Jones
Macabaya said there was probablecause to indict the two
accused for the crime.
The victim, who was under DSWD custody, was
housed at the agencys center along MJ Cuenco Avenue
corner General Maxilom Avenue in Cebu City in
September 2008.
On one October night the girl brought the guards
their meal only to be allegedlymolested by the suspects.
The abuse, the girl said, went on until November 2008.
The girl said the two accused told her to keep
quiet about the incident lest theylose their jobs.
Fernandez denied the accusations in his counter-
affidavit while Caete did not answer the allegations
against him.
Macabaya cited a Supreme Court jurisprudence
that denial is intrinsically weak, being a negative and
self-serving assertion.
The defense presented by Fernandez is
evidentiary matter, which can be bestappreciated in a
full-blown trial for the court to determine the credibility of
thewitnesses, the prosecutor said.
 The law states that child prostitution takes place
when the accused commit(s) theact of sexual
intercourse of lascivious conduct with a child exploited in
prostitution or subject to other sexual abuse.

Another example:

Filipino-American accused of child abuse

FilAm Star
5:14 pm | Saturday, September 3rd, 2011
AMERICAN CANYON, CaliforniaPolice on
Wednesday arrested a Filipino-American in this quiet city
of Solano County on suspicion of child molestation.
Police identified the man as John Edward
Gamboa, 38, a Filipino-AmericanCanyon resident.
His arraignment was set last Thursday.
In a report filed by Lieutenant Mike Daley of the
Benicia Police Department,Gamboa was a youth pastor at
a Solano County church and the minor female victim from
Benicia was one of his Bible study students. The report
did not identify the church inorder to protect the victim,
but it confirmed it is not one located in Benicia.
According to the report, Gamboa and the alleged
victim had known each other for some time, but had
begun exchanging text messages in February this year.
 The childs parents soon discovered the
communication and, through the church, were able
tospeak to Gamboa to warn him about the
inappropriateness of his behavior.
In July, apparently after the messaging stopped,
the two began texting again, thereport said. Then in
August, Gamboa sneaked into the victims Benicia home,
where thetwo engaged in kissing and inappropriate
touching.
Five days later, the report continued, the two
met again at a business event inFairfield. The two had
exchanged text messages for them to meet in a secluded
area inthe venue, where, again Gamboa kissed the victim
and inappropriately touched the child.
The report said the victims mother eventually
checked her daughters phone andfound text messages
that appeared inappropriate. The victim confided to her
parentswhat had happened and they immediately went to
the Benicia Police Department to file a formal complaint.
Gamboa was immediately contacted by Benicia
Police Officer Aldo Serrano for him to come to the station
and provide a statement. The report said Gamboa arrived
at the police department around 9 p.m. Tuesday, August
30, and provided a statement admittingto the allegations.
He was thereupon arrested without incident and booked
into theSolano County Jail on the above charges.
This illustrates the importance of parents
monitoring the behavior of their children and, when
necessary, the information on their childrens cell
phones, aley said.
Sexual predators who have gained the trust of
a child or minor have foundtexting an easy way to
engage young children in conversations at any time of
the day or night, he added. Were thankful the parents
came forward in this situation to help usimmediately
eliminate the contact that had developed in this case.
Unconfirmed reports gathered by FilAm Star in
Solano County said that Gamboa,married with four
children, originally lived in Southern California before
moving to theBay Area.
The same unverified reports indicated that he
joined the church as youth pastor when he was laid off
from his job as an IT specialist in an information
technologyconsulting firm on the East Bay.

Columban College Inc.

Olongapo City
College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Political Science
children and, when necessary, the information on their
childrens cell phones, aley said.Sexual predators who
have gained the trust of a child or minor have
foundtexting an easy way to engage young children in
conversations at any time of the day or night, he added.
Were thankful the parents came forward in this situation
to help usimmediately eliminate the contact that had
developed in this case.Unconfirmed reports gathered by
FilAm Star in Solano County said that Gamboa,married
with four children, originally lived in Southern California
before moving to theBay Area.The same unverified
reports indicated that he joined the church as youth
pastor when he was laid off from his job as an IT
specialist in an information technologyconsulting firm on
the East Bay.

VII. Analysis

Poverty is one of the factors that accounts for child

exploitation. Also, thegovernment is responsible in
making sure that the law that protects the rights of
children is being well-implemented, with no stain of
politics. If the law that guardedthe children from abusive
situation is not being implemented well, then
peoplewould surely take the law for granted and take
advantage of the innocence andweakness of the children.
The government should make sure to lessen if not
totallyeradicate cases of abusive treatments to children.
VIII.Conclusion

Although the government supports the

implementation of the rights of thechildren, we must not
always rely on them. I recommend that if we really want
achange, lets start it on ourselves because it is also our
responsibility to inform othersthat these rights of the
children exist and therefore shall be respected at all cost.
Itwould be great if we can start a nation wide silent-
promotion to the utmost protectionof the rights of the
children by informing our families about it, for family is
the coreof our society and it must remain that way
always.

IX.Recommendation

The family must remain the core of our society. The

family should be thehelm of preparing the children for
diversity and of setting moral values without passing
judgment to help them make wise
decisions.Communicating openly is the also the best way
to prevent exploitations onchildren from happening.
Secrecy, the child must be taught, is not okay, especially
whenthey break family rules. They must, of course, be
informed of the consequences of silence.