IN THE BATTLE against youth violence, a disturbing truth has emerged in Iloilo City: one of the most important safeguards for its children is also its weakest link. Barangay Councils for the Protection of Children (BCPCs), mandated under the law to be the frontliners in child protection, are in many cases incomplete, underfunded, or simply inactive. The result? Gaps wide enough for trouble to slip through — and for young lives to be derailed before anyone steps in.
Some BCPCs do not even have the full roster of members required by law. Others treat their mandate as a sideline, merging child protection meetings with regular barangay business, diluting focus on urgent issues like gang recruitment, bullying, and online exploitation. These lapses weaken the very structure meant to protect our children. If the protective net is frayed at the barangay level, no citywide strategy can hope to succeed.
The BCPC is not a token committee — it is the community’s first response mechanism for at-risk children. Properly organized and resourced, it can prevent problems before they escalate into violence. But without consistent funding, trained personnel, and regular monitoring, BCPCs risk becoming ceremonial bodies that exist on paper but are invisible in practice.
This is not merely an administrative flaw — it is a moral failing. Every stabbing, every rumble, every child recruited into a gang is a reminder that preventive structures failed to act in time. And when vigilance spikes only after an incident, it is already too late for the victim whose life has been altered.
If Iloilo City is serious about combating youth violence, it must start by fixing the weakest link. The Department of Interior and Local Government should enforce mandatory compliance with BCPC standards, while City Hall must conduct regular evaluations and publicly report on each barangay’s performance. Barangay officials who neglect their BCPC duties must be held accountable — not with polite reminders, but with sanctions.
Protecting our children is the most basic responsibility of governance. If we can’t get it right at the barangay level, all the police visibility and multi-agency meetings in the world will be nothing more than reactionary theater. The future of our youth deserves more than that.
