SENATOR Risa Hontiveros is pushing for a measure reorganizing the Council for the Welfare of Children into the Philippine Commission on Children.

In her Senate Bill 2529 or the proposed Philippine Commission of Children Act, Hontiveros said children of the Philippines deserve the best country that we can give them.

“This means dedicating State resources and an efficient bureaucracy to ensure that their needs are being met adequately. While other sectors in the country have dedicated Commissions to serve their needs, Filipino children do not have this privilege,” Hontiveros said in her explanatory note.

The senator stressed that the bill is intended to reorganize the Council for the Welfare of Children into the Philippine Commission on Children.

Based on the measure, the Philippine Commission on Children will serve as an oversight body over committees, councils, and other structures and recommend areas of convergence for an improved and efficient coordination, information-sharing and monitoring of the safety and well-being of a child, and formulate integrated national policy, plans, programs, and pilot projects including services relative to the development of the general welfare and protection of the best interests of the child.

The Philippine Commission on Children Act provides for the composition of the Commission, its powers and functions, the Technical Advisory Group, and other provisions especially created to promote the welfare of children.

It also mandates the creation of policies that further ensure the protection of children and the preservation of their childhood.