Rizal Hall, Malacañan Palace
December 12, 2017

“We will continue our unrelenting efforts to purge corruption, criminality, illegal drugs and terrorism. As we protect our children from these menaces, we will also prepare them for the crucial task of building on our past gains,” said President Rodrigo Roa Duterte during the conferment ceremony of the 2016 Presidential Award for Child-Friendly Municipalities and Cities (PACFMC) in Malacañan Palace.

The President pledged that his administration would focus on protecting the youth and urged the adults to “allow our youth to play a role in shaping a future that our children deserve to inherit.”

He also reiterated his ongoing campaign against graft and corruption in the government as he mentioned the abolition of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP), citing its low performance and the excessive foreign trips of its officials while in office.

The Chief Executive vowed to give a comfortable life for all Filipinos with his administration’s campaign in curbing graft and corruption, eliminating illegal drugs and its operations, and ending the violence brought by terrorism in the country.

“I, Rodrigo Duterte, swear to everybody that I will protect the Filipino from harm, any harm for that matter, any degree, to what level, and that I preserve the nation,” the President said.

Likewise, five local government units (LGUs) that exhibited child-friendly initiatives and the promotion and protection of children’s rights were awarded during the ceremony.

The awardees for the national level included Davao City as the highly urbanized city; Santiago City, Isabela for the independent component city category; Tagaytay City for the component city category; Carmona, Cavite for the 1st to 3rd municipality category; and Salay City, Misamis Oriental for the 4th to 6th municipality category.

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