Councilor Rodriguez pushes child welfare, anti-trafficking ordinances

Councilor Jonjon Rodriguez proposed key ordinances to intensify and strengthen guardrails that protect children from trafficking and exploitation.

One of the key measures taken up was Proposed Ordinance No. 2025-004, authored by Rodriguez and titled: “An Ordinance Establishing the Local Code on Children of Cagayan de Oro City, Otherwise Known as the Comprehensive Children’s Welfare Code of Cagayan de Oro City.”

The proposed Local Code on Children (LCC) aims to provide long-term and adaptive legal framework that responds to evolving social conditions while remaining firmly anchored on existing Philippine laws and international conventions protecting children’s rights.

“Children must be advocates of themselves — not extensions of their elders,” Rodriguez said during the meeting.

“They are individuals who must be allowed to achieve their own self and determination, with adults guiding them,” he added.

Rodriguez further stressed that children should not merely be beneficiaries of policies but active participants in governance processes that affect their lives.

“Children must be participants in decision-making processes that will impact them,” he stated.

Also discussed was Proposed Ordinance No. 2025-0052, likewise authored by Rodriguez, titled “An Ordinance for the Creation of a Hotline and Helpdesk for Reporting Instances of Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation in Cagayan de Oro.”

The said measure seeks to localize national anti-human trafficking laws by institutionalizing an anti-human trafficking hotline and helpdesk in every barangay, ensuring accessible and immediate reporting mechanisms for victims and concerned citizens.

“With the passage of these measures, we can truly say that Cagayan de Oro is a child-friendly city.” (JDO/SP)