DSWD opens Philippines' first-ever rehab center for girls in Cebu, vows more to follow
By Jel Santos
(DSWD PHOTO)
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has opened the Philippines’ first rehabilitation center exclusively for girls in conflict with the law in Cebu, vowing that similar facilities must follow.
“We will make sure that this is intentional. It can’t be one of its kind and will remain as the only one of its kind,” DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said during the inauguration ceremony on Friday, June 20,
The DSWD chief said the newly opened gender-responsive facility must serve as a model for all DSWD Field Offices (FOs) to replicate in their own regions.
(DSWD PHOTO)
He stressed that this milestone should not end as a one-off project.
“Today is a challenge to the entire DSWD family here that the first of its kind is good to celebrate on the day itself but it cannot fall in history that it is the one of its kind. There has to be more of these facilities, there has to be more of these regional rehabilitation centers for girls,” he said.
The Regional Rehabilitation Center for Youth (RRCY) was developed in partnership with the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council (JJWC), Department of Justice (DOJ), the provincial and local governments of Cebu, and the Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) community.
The agency said the center is specifically designed to cater to the needs of female children in conflict with the law (CICLs), offering a therapeutic and rehabilitative environment.
It includes dormitories, counseling rooms, therapy spaces, and areas for educational and developmental activities.
(DSWD PHOTO)
“We owe our children facilities that will restore and make them productive members of society again,” the DSWD chief said.
Gatchalian reiterated the agency’s efforts to build opportunities for youth rehabilitation. He referred to a previous project, noting the DSWD’s continued push for reform.
“Last month we broke ground for the country’s 1st ever agri-camp for children in conflict with the law. That was a realization of a 50 years-in-the-making-dream as provided by law. Today we opened the country’s first ever Regional Rehabilitation Center for the Youth (for girls in conflict with the law). Our girls in conflict with the law deserve a second chance and this gender-sensitive facility will give them that avenue,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).