DSWD: No street kids‘caged’ for papal visit

MANILA, Philippines - No street children as young as five were “caged” in detention centers “to keep streets clean” for Pope Francis’ visit, contrary to a report by a tabloid based in the United Kingdom, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said yesterday.

DSWD Secretary Corazon Soliman said she ordered an investigation despite serious doubts on the claims made by the DailyMail Online of the alleged imprisonment of minors, particularly street children, as part of the country’s clean-up drive for the five-day visit of Pope Francis.

Social workers who conducted the investigation found no caged street children in the Pasay City jail, the city’s Youth Home and the Pasay police station, Soliman said.

Meanwhile, social workers found 24 children in Bahay Pag-asa in Parañaque City, a place also mentioned in the report, but Soliman said it was a rehabilitation center for youth and not an adult prison.

“I would like to reiterate that we do not jail children. We jail abusers,” Soliman said.

The DailyMail Online report also showed a photo of a severely malnourished street child named Frederico.

Soliman said the boy, rescued by the DSWD social workers in October last year, is now recovering well under the care of a non-government organization (NGO). “We have found his mother and we are currently doing a case work management with her,” she said.

The DSWD chief also said that based on an update from the Helping Hands Healing Hearts Ministries, “Frederico is thriving,” noting that the boy has gone from 18 to 27.5 kilograms. She also said “Fred, as he likes to be called, is now a very active and happy boy.”

Fred is now ready to find a foster family who could love and care for him, the DSWD said.

According to Soliman, a multi-agency task force composed of the DSWD, local government units, NGOs, and the police conducts a weekly reach-out to street children.

As part of the program, children are taken to the local social welfare office where they are assessed, profiled, and provided proper treatment, she said.