• THERESA MAE DULMAN
The Bacolod City Anti-Mendicancy Task Force rescued three out-of-school minors with ages of 11, 13, and 17, near a commercial establishment along Alunan Avenue, Barangay 39, on Monday afternoon.
The ‘children at risk’ are residents of Purok Neptune, Barangay Singcang-Airport, and were reportedly working as street barkers and were allegedly caught using inhalants at the time of the rescue.
Barangay Sincang-Airport Captain Rosinie Distrito said the agreement reached is to enroll the children in the Alternative Learning System to encourage them to resume their education.
Social worker Anjanette Servano noted that despite multiple previous rescues, the minors frequently return to the streets because they have families to return to.
The parents have given assurance that they will convince their children to enroll in the ALS program and maintain closer supervision to ensure they do not fall back into substance abuse or street-dwelling habits.*
