This city has received the national 2021 Gawad Paglilingkod sa Sambayanan (GAPAS) Award for Best LGU (local government unit) Implementing Day Care Service Category given by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

In a statement on Friday, the city government said the award was received by Davao City Social Welfare and Development Office, Preschoolers and Children’s Concerns Division (PSCCD) Chief Gilda Dela Gente-Salvaña and Dr. Melodina Pardiollo on February 28, at the Batasan Complex, Quezon City.

Salvaña said that the city met the requirements set by the DSWD for daycare services that include: one barangay, one daycare center; 85 percent of barangays with functional Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC); availability of Investment Plan For Children; at least 80 percent of daycare workers are accredited; salary of daycare workers should be at least Salary Grade 6 or above; enrollment/participation rate of the children should be 90 percent; a low number of dropouts; conduct of capability building for daycare workers; and organized daycare parents.

The city has exceeded the standard number of one daycare center per barangay with a total of 684 existing daycare centers, of which 558 daycare centers have buildings and 126 are home-based.

Davao City has 182 barangays.

“Davao City complied with the requirements requested from us. But with and without this commendation, Davao City is already at par in the implementation of our daycare services,” Salvaña added.

Apart from exceeding the number of barangay daycare centers, 81 percent of the city’s daycare workers are accredited by DSWD and the majority of them are plantilla or regular employees.

In 2020 alone, the city allotted a total of PHP116.4 million budget for the operations of daycare services.

“The early childhood education is valuable for children because lack of time and attention to children in early childhood could place the children at risk,” Salvaña added. (PNA)