While President Aquino is sincere in implementing his “Daang Matuwid†program, he will not be able to fully attain its objectives without the full support and cooperation of the Filipino people. It is not enough that he punish those who commit crimes. At this point, reforms are not enough anymore; what are needed are a change in man and not a change of man.
It is worth mentioning in this space the reply of human rights Commissioner Loretta Ann P. Rosales dated Jan. 2, to my request regarding the Commission on Human Rights stand on the 4Ps flagship program. It stated that the Commission appreciates the fact that the present government in its effort to comply with its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), has come up with programs to ensure that children from poor families are not deprived of their rights, especially their rights to education.
Since the CHR has the mandate to give advice and make recommendations to the Philippine government on how to fulfill its human rights obligations, they can also propose to the government to revisit the rules on distributing the CTC to ensure that it is in a “Human Rights Based Approached†and not mere services or benefits given by the government. They can also advise the DSWD on how to improve delivery of services to make it accessible not only to a few but to all. I was assured that the Commission will continue to monitor on how our government complies with its obligations in protecting the rights of Filipino children and they thanked me for my letter and appreciated my efforts to further protect and prevent the rights of the children and the youth in the country.
As a concerned senior citizen, I feel it my duty to remind our politicians that they overlooked to address the very root cause of our nation’s problems. As a children’s advocate, the right time to nurture children is during the formative years (06 and under). We must not forget that what we parents teach, does and say to our young children whether right or wrong is inculcated into their very tender and vulnerable minds. What is happening now is partly the product of parental neglect and that of our government leaders.
In view of the above, the movement I formed a few years back aptly called “Crusade For A Better Youth Of Tomorrow,†has decided to appeal for your full support and cooperation to help raise a new breed of Filipinos in the generations to come for them to become better children of God and upright citizens of tomorrow. In this advocacy which is of national interest, the Pinoy Child book, a 1997 national bestseller I authored written in English/Tagalog with over 400 illustrations that provides Health, Care, Safety and Education will guide poor parents whose children are in the formative years in nurturing them at home without going to the day care centers which I consider an appropriate alternative solution. This will ensure that when these young children will reach adulthood, they cannot be easily tempted to do wrong and by the corruption will be a thing of the past.
It will be highly appreciated if you could provide your constituents a copy of the book which is available at FEADCO Bldg. 161-A Shaw Blvd. cor. JB Vargas St. Mandaluyong City, telefax no. (02) 5337913; 0917-8061936.