SOCC eyes ‘Children’s Summer Fest’ as yearly event

After the success of the recently concluded week-long “Children’s Summer Festival”, the Special Office for Children’s Concerns (SOCC) is eyeing the event as an annual activity for the children to showcase their talents and bond with families.

SOCC Head Consorcia Ronquillo in an interview on the Davao City Disaster Radio Friday said that she will lobby before the Local Council for the Protection of Children (LCPC) to make the children’s fest an official event every month of May annually.

“Ipaabot nato sa Local Council for the Protection of Children (LCPC) that hopefully mahimo na ni siyang official para tuloy-tuloy napud ni sa summer festival nga in every May. Nakita naman gud nako ni.. nakita namo nga naa ra’y usa ka event issues and concerns mapadayag sa atoang kabataan during the Children’s month na ginapahigayon sa bulan sa Nobyembre (We will raise to the Local Council for the Protection of Children that hopefully it will become an official event so that the Summer Festival will be conducted every month of May. We saw that there is only one activity – the Children’s Month in November wherein the issues and concerns of children are tackled),” Ronquillo said.

This year, the Summer Festival for Children was held from May 23 to 27 with the theme, “Pahalagahan: Talento at Kasiyahan ng Pamilya at Kabataan”.

Ronquillo said the week-long Children’s Summer Festival was a success where children and their families had fun participating in each activity such as the poster-making contest.

The poster-making was the only face-to-face activity besides the TikTok Dance, the Singing competition, and the photo contest activities which were held online.

The festival, according to Ronquillo in a separate interview, aims to serve as an avenue where Dabawenyo children from the city’s 182 barangays can showcase their creative talents by participating in a city-wide talent competition. It is a collaborative initiative by the SOCC, Barangay Cultural Communities and Affairs Division (BCCAD), DepEd Region XI, City Social Welfare and Development (CSWDO), and various local NGOs.

SOCC is a newly created office under the City Mayor’s Office that serves as a coordinating and implementing arm of the Local Government of Davao City Local Council for the Protection of Children (LCPC) in its function to focus on children-specific programs and projects distinct from the direct service function of Davao City’s social welfare arm, the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO). CIO