ANG PROBINSYANO Partylist Representative Alfred delos Santos filed a measure that will promote the health and welfare of children and better protect them from abuse, neglect and exploitation.

House Bill 7086 or the Comprehensive Child Protection and Welfare Act mandates that there shall be one welfare worker in every barangay.

Children aged 0 to 18 shall be regularly monitored by a healthworker who will conduct house-to-house visits to measure their physical growth, weight, nutrition and mental well-being.

Meanwhile, children aged 13 to 18 shall be regularly encouraged to get involved in physical, emotional and mental exercises and activities.

Delos Santos said that many children are victims of abuse and exploitation.

He cited data culled by the Philippine Statistics Authority that of the 5,051 child abuse cases that year, majority of the children were neglected, sexually abused, abandoned, or victims of child trafficking.

“If we are going to believe in the potential that the youth has, it is equally important that they be protected from all kinds of abuse. The next generation is, and will still be, worth fighting for,” Delos Santos said.