PROGRAMS AND SERVICES FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN For more information please email Police Community Relations at pcrg@pnp.gov.ph Download Laws
The PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE scored a number of milestones in the promotion and protection of women and children’s rights since its inception in 1991 following the passage of Republic Act 6975, otherwise known as the PNP Act of 1991. Several programs, projects and activities were introduced, carried out, and sustained by the PNP as an instrument of the Philippine government to carry out its commitment to international treaties and standards on the protection of women and children. This decade-old trend within the PNP in addressing various issues and concerns affecting the most vulnerable and oftentimes helpless members of the society has been attributed mainly to the growing number of organizations, international and domestic alike, to rally behind a common cause for championing the universally accepted rights of women and children. The active involvement in this regard of the PNP did not only improve its level of services to the public but also enhanced its image which bordered on the desired performance by the police towards the women and children. Historical Perspective: Addressing women and children concerns was given premium in the area of law enforcement and community relations by the PNP ever since the National Police Commission issued a Memorandum Circular Number 92-010, which paved the way to the establishment of the Child and Youth Relations Section (CYRS) in highly urbanized cities, including Metro Manila, and the designation of Child and Youth Relations Officer in other police stations nationwide. Aware of the alarming number of the victimization of children and young women due to sexual exploitation which resulted in the enactment of RA 7610 (Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act) on 17 June 1992, the PNP forged a working partnership with other concerned government agencies, particularly the Social Welfare and Justice departments as well as non-government organizations to raise the consciousness of the police force about the rights of women and children and the necessary police intervention for the protection of these rights, especially from exploitation, harm and danger. Soon came the establishment in 1993 of the first Women’s Desk in Quezon City, which was merely a project of the Directorate for Police Community Relations and the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women with NGO participation. This project was replicated in other major cities and spread like wildfire across the other parts of the country even before RA 8551, otherwise known as the PNP Reform and Reorganization Act of 1998, was enacted. Title VII of the law amplified the institutionalization of the Management of Cases of Children in Especially Difficult Circumstances which contains certain procedures in the handling of children’s cases. It was published in 1992 as a joint project of DSWD, DILG, NAPOLCOM, PNP and the UNICEF immediately after the issuance of NAPOLCOM Memo Circular No 92-010. The PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management has recently published this year a PNP Handbook on Child Abuse and Neglect which deals further on the child interview techniques and the dynamics of child sexual abuse and its medico-legal implications which the police should also be aware of. A handbook for police personnel about HIV/AIDS was also published last April 2000, entitled “HIV-AIDS Prevention: What the Police Should Know”. Last May 1999, Prof Vitit Muntarbhorn, ASEAN Consultant on Child Welfare conducted a data gathering on the work program on children as indicated in the ASEAN Plan of Action for Children during the Sixth ASEAN Summit. Prof Muntarbhorn visited the National Capital Regional Police Office and its selected local police stations, particularly the Women and Children’s Desks, to find out certain projects and activities that have been initiated and sustained by the Philippine National Police. Earlier, in 1998, the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights represented by a UN Mission Team of Ms Marlene Alejos and Marcia Kran, UNHCR Legal Counsel, conducted a validation of its Report of a Needs Assessment Mission to the Philippines with the PNP, among other agencies, in the area of Juvenile Justice, as its source of information. It is in line with the UN programmed of technical cooperation in the field of human rights. The administration of juvenile justice is in fact one of the major project components of the RP-UNICEF Fifth Country Programme for Children (CPC V) of 1999-2003, in which the PNP helped provide some ingredients. It translates, among others, to training programs for all stakeholders under the Juvenile Justice System, including police officers. Over the years, several assistance, including donations in all kinds, have been extended by various Non-Government Organizations to the PNP. The agency was able to effect several projects and activities aimed at enhancing police response to victims of abuse and violence. A major project that is now underway is the establishment of the PNP Women’s Crisis and Child Protection Center based in Camp Crame which will place “under one roof” the disciplines involved in the treatment of children and women victims of violence and abuse. This project was jointly initiated by the PNP, the Philippine General Hospital, and the Advisory Board Foundation, a Washington-based NGO which is closely working with the PGH in the area of child abuse treatment. Also, the PNP is strengthening its tie-up with different Rotary Clubs which is conducting another search for the Outstanding Women and Children’s Desk Officers for 1999, an almost annual event which the latter has been initiating since 1995. This form of recognition to deserving members of the Women and Children’s Desk paved the way to enhancing the existence of the unit and further motivated WCD officers to excel in their field. Another classic example of strong police-community partnership towards addressing the plight of women and children victims of violence was the establishment of the SAGIP (Saklolohan at Gabayan ang Ina at Pamilya or Help and Guide Mothers and Family) Center, a place in Muntinlupa City where victims of domestic violence, particularly physical and sexual abuses among women and children, are taken cared of by a working staff composed of physicians, psychiatrists, social workers and police officers rendering 24-Women’s (and Children’s) Desk in all police stations with the mandate to administer and handle cases involving women and children victims of gender-based crimes, particularly all forms of abuse and violence. Earlier on, in June 1997, the Women’s Desk and the Child and Youth Relations Section (CYRS) were merged into one, now the Women and Children’s Desk in order to strengthen and optimize the utilization of policewomen in responding to cases and concerns of women and children. The structural make-up of the Women and Children’s Desk was concretized by the activation of the Women and Children Concerns Division (WCCD) under the Directorate for Police Community Relations (DPCR) following the issuance of PNP Memorandum Circular Number 97-001 dated September 1997. The WCCD has since been an effective component of the PNP exercising supervision, monitoring and evaluation, providing policy direction, and formulating programs and projects geared towards the effective operationalization of the Women and Children’s Desks. In January 1998, the PNP adopted a data monitoring system on cases involving women and children victims of abuse and violence with the end in view of establishing a profile of all these cases that would subsequently serve as basis for PNP policy issuance and program formulation for women and children. Regarded as a best practice model in Asia and America, there are a total of 1,490 Women and Children’s Desk of 95% of all police stations established nationwide as of this date. Notwithstanding the lack of policewomen to manage the desks, the PNP may eventually comply with the two-year requirement of RA 8551 which mandates the full establishment of the Women and Children’s Desk in all police stations by the end of the 1st Qtr 2000 vis-à-vis increased number of women recruits through the years. Training and other Capacity-Building Activities for WCD Officers The PNP had been a beneficiary of support and assistance emanating from various agencies and NGOs concerned with women and children. In its avowed compliance with various laws on women and children and in its desire to wage a similar campaign against the victimization of women and children, the PNP has been receiving several assistance from the Social Welfare and Justice departments as well as different international and local NGOs in helping improve the working knowledge of the police about the rights of women and children, the proper treatment and handling of women and children cases, and the synergy of actions and collaboration among the stakeholders and service providers --- through training, protocol enhancement and other forms towards enhancing the level of competence of police officers to serve and to protect women and children. These training programs were complemented by a series of other skills enhancement programs conducted by foreign police experts on women and children, namely, the Scotland Yard and Durham Constabulary of the United Kingdom (Women and Children Protection Course [5th]), the Australian Federal Police Agency (Sexual Assault Investigation Course [4th]), and the French National Police (Child Abuse Treatment Course [1st]). All this came about as an offshoot of the bilateral agreements between the Philippines and these countries to wage a common stand against the victimization of women and children arising from crimes and other forms of lawlessness. One major project of the PNP within the year is the issuance of a Comprehensive Manual on the protection of women and children which would bring about a highly substantial workbook on women and children for the use of police officers. So far, currently in use by WCD officers is a mini-handbook on the hour service to the victims. This project was jointly initiated by the PNP and the Zonta International Philippines. In other areas of the country, two major projects were initiated successfully by the PNP: the Kindergarten Cops Project of Police Regional Office 11 (Southern Mindanao) and the Youth for Environmental Safety of PRO 6 (Eastern Visayas). Other regional offices implemented the “Alkansiya Ng Pulisya para sa Batang Lansangan”, or police coinbank for street children which, though a mini-project, has endeared the PNP to the less fortunate kids on the streets as the proceeds may help make life bearable for them. Among the other NGOs which supported the PNP in its programs for women and children are the Child and Family Service Philippines based in Baguio City whose continuing program for children have also established a strong partnership with the PNP in the area of law enforcement; the Kabalikat ng Pamilyang Pilipino, an NGO involved with helping the victims of HIV-AIDS and which is currently working with the PNP to similarly raise the consciousness of the police about gender issues and rights of women against violence; and the Bahay Tuluyan, a center for street children providing a two-hour “Talakayang Pambata” or children’s affairs, a radio program which serves as a forum for discussion of issues, including law enforcement, involving children aired over a local radio station, DWSS, every Sunday from 7:00 to 9:00 AM. PNP Involvement in Legislative Agenda/GO-NGO Collaboration The PNP has also been actively participating in inter-agency affairs for the protection of women and children. The agency takes an active part in the Sub-Task Force on Children in Conflict with the Law and the Sub-Task Force Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children under the Task Force on Children in Need of Special Protection, a component issue of the Philippine Council for the Welfare of Children. The STF-CICL had recently finalized a comprehensive draft bill on juvenile justice which was eventually forwarded to Philippine Congress. The PNP also actively attends to and provides input to various legislative agenda for women and children. It has been involved in the refinements of pending bills on trafficking in women and children, domestic violence, women empowerment and the like. Every so often, Congress has been furnishing the PNP numerous copies of bills on women and children for comments and suggestions which the PNP faithfully comply with by providing substantial inputs to the draft bills. The police need to recognize that, in dealing with violence against women, and more importantly, child abuse cases, they join other forces in an integrated approach to send a clear message that these crimes are not and will never be tolerated in a civilized society. In other words, they must have a whole lot of social consciousness in dealing with various issues on abuse and violence against women and children. That’s why the Women and Children’s Desk was established because this unit, managed mostly by policewomen, has become an instrument in police-community relations that is dedicated to providing services and protection to the victims of abuse and violence. An officer of WCD must be part investigator, part social worker, part psychologist, part philanthropist, part counsel, part therapist. The job, indeed, requires a special kind of people to handle this special type of concern. As a law enforcement institution, the PNP is sharing its manifest adherence to its social contract with the people --- that issues and concerns for women and children can never be demonstrated merely by the fact that crimes against these defenseless members of the society are simply being solved but that also the police, as part of the society, should ensure that these crimes, especially against children, never exist at all. We are strengthening our own resolve that police investigation is not the lone solution to the problem confronting the victims of abuse. There are answers to questions surrounding violence and abuse which cannot be provided exclusively by a police investigator despite his or her years of experience in the job. His or her involvement goes far beyond the investigation stage for he or she must learn to work with community members in a collaborative effort to stop the victimization of women and children. Investigation is just a small component to a very wide social dimension in dealing with the victimization of women and children. It is by building a partnership between disciplines and through teamwork that the likelihood of conflict between intervening agencies could be minimized. When it comes to addressing cases of women and children, therefore, investigation is not a monopoly of the police. In some instances, presence of cops is not even necessary for solving a given problem confronting women and children. This is the wisdom behind the efforts at the Philippine National Police to address the extremely difficult situations of women and children. Certain mechanisms have been adopted to make the police force gender sensitive and exercise their authority in the area of women and children protection. By reaching out to these sectors through some community-based projects and activities, by strengthening our tie-up with other government agencies and concerned NGOs, and by providing institutional support mechanisms to manage cases of violence and abuse against women and children where the police can provide assistance and protection to the victims in partnership with organized bodies, both here and abroad --- the PNP indeed was, and still is, able to make a big difference.
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