on Cebu South Road, causes frenzy

motorist alerted him of the incident. He was confused when he saw money flying all over the place and he noticed that his bag was damaged.

He immediately made a U-turn and tried to block some vehicles from moving on the busy road, but could not go near because there were so many people gathering the bills.

“If it is possible, the money should be returned because if not he (money collector) will be the one to pay,” said Police Staff Sergeant Jonas Ricaplaza, Station 11 Desk Officer.

The collector was emotional when he appealed to those who had picked up the scattered money, urging them to return it to him.

Gatchalian: QC orphanage padlocked over building, safety rules infractions

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

SECRETARY Rex Gatchalian of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has clarified that a controversial orphanage in Quezon City was padlocked for being a “fire trap” and for several other violations.

Testifying at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender, Gatchalian also cited “imminent danger and the best interest of the children” for the closure of the Gentle Hands Inc. (GHI) orphanage.

Gatchalian dismissed claims that the closure was abrupt and without due process.

According to Gatchalian, the GHI was told thrice to improve its facilities before the cease and desist order (CDO) was issued.

With the CDO, the 127 children and one ‘adult with special needs’ were pulled out from the GHI and transferred to three other facilities.

Aside from alleged violations of the

DSWD eyes database for street families

THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Wednesday said the planned database for street families living would help combat exploitation of the vulnerable sector.

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, in an interview, stressed that information is powerful in making interventions to protect the homeless from exploitation.

Fire Code, Gatchalian told the Senate panel chaired by Sen. Risa Hontiveros that GHI also committed infractions of the Building Code.

The building permit was only for a three-storey facility, but GHI had four floors.

Gatchalian also noted alleged overcrowding at the orphanage, saying it had a capacity of only 50 children as recommended by the Quezon City building department.

Gatchalian further cited poor ventilation and dirty environment in the orphanage.

“Their (GHI) accolades are very good, but sometimes people get relaxed and my point is when I did the spot check, imminent danger was there,” Gatchalian pointed out.

He also described as a “recipe for disaster” the GHI’s claim that it was only a coincidence that he came into the orphanage without seeing any house parent.

and Development (DSWD) has recognized the Las Piñas City government for “satisfactory compliance” in establishing and maintaining a child-care program dubbed “Bahay Pag-asa.”

The DSWD’s Standards Bureau granted Mayor Imelda Aguilar a Certificate of Accreditation for the city’s compliance with the Second Level standard requirements, or Level 2 Accreditation, in the implementation of the program for the youth.

Bahay Pag-asa centers are child-care institutions that offer rehabilitation and intervention to children in conflict with the law. Under the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, these facilities are established and run by local government units. Las Piñas was the only local government unit in the southern part of

“Alam natin na ang lansangan ay hindi angkop na lugar para sa ating mga pamilya, lalo na sa kababaihan at kabataan na maaaring ma-expose sa exploitation,” he said. The DSWD has launched the “Oplan Pag-abot” program for individuals and families living on the streets of Metro Manila. Through the program, street dwellers will be provided with identification cards (IDs) and undergo biometric registration so they can be better monitored by the DSWD. Gatchalian underscored the importance of providing the street dwellers with IDs, saying that it recognizes their right to be identified, considering that many of them do not have any form of identification.

“Itong kababayan natin, imagine, mahihirapan kumuha ng PhilSys ‘to kasi walang birth certificate, wala talagang kahit anong identification. Sana sa ID na ini-issue out ng DSWD, maging…first step to get those identification later on,” he said.