| Rep. Jose Carlos Lacson (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) yesterday said he has filed three bills aimed at boosting the rights and opportunities of Filipino children. House Bill 30 seeks to establish a national program for Filipino gifted children, and House Bill 31 seeks a Special Education Center (SPED) for each school division and at least three SPEDs in big school divisions for children with special needs. “We need a law that will establish a center to implement the national program for Filipino gifted children, which will be tasked to identify the gifted children at an earliest age possible, provide them with special development opportunities, scholarship grants and other forms of assistance,” he said. Though many Filipino children demonstrate an above average general intellectual ability and potential ability in the arts, humanities, science and mathematics, the country’s school system does not address their needs so they are forced to accept however little the school can offer, Lacson said. “The Filipino gifted children are the hope of our nation towards development and honoring their exceptional skills and talents that will bring out the best in them,” he added. Lacson said he has also refiled in the 14th Congress his House Bill No. 31 or the Special Education Act that had been approved in the House in the 11th, 12th and 13th congress but not acted on in the Senate. He is also pushing the passage of his House Bill No. 10 requiring certification of the Department of Social Welfare and Development to declare a child legally available for adoption as a prerequisite for adoption proceedings. Lacson said the bill seeks to provide for the early placement of neglected, orphaned or abandoned children for adoption. Presidential Decree No. 603 mandates that the declaration of abandonment of children should be secured by virtue of a court order. The judicial proceedings, though summary in nature, takes a substantial amount of time and suffers in the order of priority of court dockets, he said. The bill also aims to shorten the six month period required in the Child and Youth Welfare Code before a child may be considered abandoned to three months, he said.*CPG |