KIDAPAWAN CITY – North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño Mendoza reported on Friday, Nov. 28, significant gains in protecting and uplifting children in the province, and acknowledged persistent poverty, conflict, and online exploitation as continuing threats to their rights and welfare.

Mendoza, in her 2025 Provincial State-of-the-Children Report, said the province has poured millions of pesos into programs on health, nutrition, education, and child protection to ensure that “every Batang Cotabateño can live, learn, and thrive.”

This year’s report was anchored on the 2025 National Children’s Month theme “OSAEC CSAEC Wakasan: Kaligtasan at Karapatan ng Bata, Ipaglaban!” which calls for ending online sexual abuse or exploitation of children and the circulation of child sexual abuse or exploitation materials.

Mendoza noted that the province remains largely dependent on agriculture and continues to grapple with persistent poverty and limited job opportunities, constraining many families’ access to food, healthcare, and education.

Despite ongoing peace and governance initiatives, she said, political instability in some areas and environmental threats such as flooding, deforestation, and climate related disasters still heighten children’s vulnerabilities, particularly in remote communities.

Mendoza said the provincial government, in close collaboration with the Provincial Council for the Protection of Children and other partners, is responding through programs that expand learning opportunities, strengthen healthcare services, and safeguard children from neglect, abuse, and exploitation.

Records from 2021 to 2025 revealed that North Cotabato posted a significant reduction in child malnutrition, the governor said.

Stunting among children under five dropped from 9.25 percent to 2.89 percent. Wasting decreased from 2.73 percent to 0.60 percent. Overweight and obesity fell from 2.42 percent to 0.83 percent.

Mendoza said the province’s integrated nutrition program reached thousands of residents in 2025 alone.

She added that more than 10,000 mothers and 4,400 children received micronutrient supplements, 3,000 undernourished children and nutritionally at risk women benefited from dietary support, and 50 barangay health stations were equipped for improved growth monitoring.

The program also provided vision screening to 5,500 pupils, distributed adolescent health kits to nearly 10,000 young people, and screened more than 10,000 newborns for early detection of treatable conditions.

Haven for abuse survivors, Mendoza also highlighted the work of the Home for Women and Children, operated under the province’s Protective and Rehabilitative Services for Women and Children Victim Survivors of Abuse.

From January to October 2025, the facility served 30 client survivors – girls aged two to 17 and young women aged 18 to 19 – from 10 municipalities, providing comprehensive care and psychosocial support.

The report showed that 11 survivors have been reunited with their families, while 29 have returned to school and are participating in activities that help rebuild their confidence and social connections. Five clients have testified in court, with four placed under the Witness Protection Program for their safety.

Education has also been a central component of recovery, with two survivors set to graduate from senior high school and eight having completed junior high school.

Mendoza said all beneficiaries underwent medical care, 27 received dental services, and 22 underwent psychological therapy. The initiative is backed by a P3,074,708 budget, which reflects the province’s “enduring compassion and commitment to transform victims into empowered survivors," she added.

To realize its vision of a child-friendly province by 2034, the provincial government has invested P45.5 million in child-centered programs across education, health, nutrition, and protection.

Mendoza said part of this funding was used to construct and complete school buildings and covered courts in Aleosan, Libungan, Pigcawayan, Pikit, Antipas, and Makilala, providing new spaces for academic and non academic activities.

"Early Childhood Care and Development remains a key priority," Mendoza said, adding that the province allocated P14,001,000 to support 1,077 child development workers, described as frontliners in early education.

In partnership with the ECCD Council and Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, Cotabato held external evaluators’ training aligned with the National Early Learning Framework, capacitating 17 focal persons and LGU representatives.

The province also hosted the First Quarter Regional Child Development Workers Federation Meeting. It facilitated external assessments for seven child development centers in Antipas, reinforcing its commitment to quality, standards based early childhood care.

"As one Cotabato, we will nurture a generation that is not only protected – but prepared to lead our province toward peace, progress, and lasting dignity," Mendoza said.