DAVAO CITY – The local government here has received the ideal percentage of 84.82 percent in the audit for the functionality of the Local Council for the Protection of Children.

In an interview, Special Office for Children's Concerns head Consorcia Ronquillo said the audit was conducted by the Inter-Agency Monitoring Task Force spearheaded by the Department of the Interior and Local Government, for year 2023, with 2022 as the base year.

"There are levels of functionality of rating for LCPC functionality assessment, ideal is the highest at 80-100 percent," said Ronquillo, adding that they are hopeful that it can be maintained, through the cooperation of barangays, partners and stakeholders.

She disclosed that that indicators for the LCPC functionality are Organizational Sustainability in Davao City (15%), policies and plans for children (30%), budget for the Local Council for the Protection for Children (25%), and service delivery, monitoring and management of children (30%).

"We are challenged to do more, and we will focus on monitoring the level of functionality of the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children," Ronquillo said.

She added that they are strengthening the BCPCs because some are affected easily by change of administration, especially during the turnover.

"Last year, we only got one barangay with ideal rating, this year we already have a result, and we have 15 'ideal' barangays and we are aiming that hopefully more than half of the total barangays will also get ideal rating because they really affect the overall rating of the city," Ronquillo said.