LGU signs MOA with IJM

Mayor Reynaldo Uy shakes hands with IJM Manila Field Office Director Atty. Carmela Andal - Castro after they signed the Memorandum of Agreement.

Last Monday, after his visit in Barangay Aguit-itan and the Slaughter House, Mayor Reynaldo Uy attended the program of the International Justice Mission (IJM) at Marju Krisel Resort. A highlight of the activity was the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the LGU and IJM.

Subject of the MOA was the CSWDO-operated institution known as Calbayog Response Center for Women and Children (CRESCENT-WC) which is located in Barangay Payahan. It can be recalled that the center was opened sometime in October of 1999 with then Vice President Gloria Arroyo as guest of honor. The center was aimed at enabling Children in Need of Special Protection (CNSP) and Women in Especially Difficult Circumstances (WEDC) resolve their problems and thus restore their normal social functioning through the provision of protective rehabilitative services.

Mayor Reynaldo Uy delivering his message before the MOA signing.

The CRESCENT building is in need of repair. Thus, as stipulated in the MOA, the IJM shall provide support social services, which will include the following:

• The improvement of the facility for the total well-being of the admitted residents. The improvements of the building will cost Php 686,438.78.
• Provision of free legal services to victims of trafficking in person.

For its counterpart, the LGU shall execute the following:

• Allocate funds for labor, equipment rental and contingencies amounting to Php 136,823.24
• Assign the City Engineering Office as the Project Implementation and Management Team; and
• Continuously allocate funds for the maintenance of the CRESCENT-WC Building.

The LGU will also provide manpower and facility for the implementation and sustainability of the programs and services such as temporary shelter to address needs and problems of CNSP and WEDC to include victims of trafficking in persons; make provisions for the continuous awareness raising activities and advocacy campaign on anti-trafficking in person; allow the CSWDO to participate in the programs of the IJM; and accommodate proposals from the CSWDO on the delivery of basic services provided that such proposals are covered within the area of IJM’s program.

IJM is an international human rights organization which provides free investigative, legal and social work assistance to the urban poor especially cases involving child abuse and child sex trafficking in the National Capital Region, the neighboring provinces and Calbayog City.