ADULTS cannot just bring out minors from Davao City unless they get the consent of the children’s parents and comply with some documentary requirements.
Yes, even if the accompanying adults are the grandparents, aunts, uncles and older siblings of the traveling minors.
This is the reason why the Davao City Social Services and Development Office issued permits to travel to 10 lumad children aged 15 years and below. Issuance of permits to travel is covered by the Children’s Welfare Code of Davao, a locally crafted city ordinance which has existed for more than a decade now.
Malu Bermudo, chief of the CSSDO, said the permits to travel were processed and released after necessary documents were provided. The documents included birth certificates and parental consent.
“We first made sure that these papers were validated, Bermudo said.
She said that at the airline counter, however, the children’s documents went through another verification process. “Thus, we informed the airline and the airport police that the papers were verified,” Bermudo said.
The CSSDO head said “the implementation of the Children’s Code of Davao is something that we always do everyday and this is to protect our children from possible incidents of trafficking.”
“Our partners in the crafting and the implementation of this code are various groups advocating the protection of children’s rights — including Kabiba,” Bermudo said.
“This is not about Martial Law. Plain and simple, this is about ensuring the interest and safety of our children,” Bermudo said in a statement.
City information officer Jeffrey “Jepoi” Tupas said Bermudo made the statement following an “urgent alert” circulated through a text message by a certain Lindy of KABIBA, a militant organization, saying that “Airport police of Davao International airport barred for the second time the travel of delegates of SOS conference. Despite securing permit to travel, 32 IP students along with their parents and teachers were being banned to travel to manila. This is martial law!” AMA
