BACOLOD City – The Bacolod City Anti-Mendicancy Task Force has rescued 15 street children since it launched operations last week, authorities reported.
Of the rescued minors, four were girls. All were turned over to the Youth Home for intervention and case management.
The task force is composed of personnel from the Department of Social Services and Development (DSSD) and the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO).
DSSD head Richelle Verdeprado-Mangga said their first encounter involved children seeking shelter outside a mall in Barangay Mandalagan. The children, some of whom had been living on the streets for years, were found begging in the area.
At the Bacolod Public Plaza, authorities also rescued several boys caught sniffing solvents, including a 17-year-old with a foot ailment who was immediately brought to the hospital for treatment.
Verdeprado-Mangga underscored the importance of breaking the cycle of children growing up on the streets.
“Let’s give them a future. They are still children with so much potential to transform their lives. Our operations are meant to reach them and connect them with social workers who can provide case management,” she said.
She stressed that institutionalizing children should only be the last resort.
“What we want is to reintegrate them into their communities and bring them back to their families, because that is where the biggest responsibility lies,” she added, emphasizing the crucial role of parents and the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children.
The intensified operations were partly prompted by Mayor Greg Gasataya’s concern after a video surfaced online last week showing four boys allegedly threatening students inside a fast-food chain near the Bacolod Public Plaza. Three of the minors were later rescued, two of whom had previously run away from home.
The campaign aims to protect vulnerable children from abuse, neglect, exploitation, and violence, while promoting responsible parenting and stronger community involvement.
Meanwhile, the task force has been conducting night patrols across the city to enforce the curfew for minors and rescue children found loitering late at night./PN
