Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia and Councilor Em Legaspi-Ang will lead the ceremonial ground breaking today of the site for the establishment of the Bacolod Youth Home at the Vista Alegre-Granada relocation site in Bacolod City.

The facility will be built through a private public partnership between the City Government of Bacolod and Verlanie Foundation Inc., a non-government organization that cares for children in need of special protection.

Founded by French social worker, Dominique Lemay and his Filipino friends, the non-profit foundation celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

The construction of a “Youth Home” for children in conflict with the law was identified by the Democratic Local Governance in Southeast Asia (DELGOSEA) in Bacolod City as one of the possible projects to adopt.

The Bacolod City government, through the Local Government Development Foundation, is teaming up with the Partnership for Democratic Local Governance in Southeast-Asia to replicate local governance best practice on People Private Public Partnership from Cambodia.

DELGOSEA Project has prepared 16 Best Practices from five participating countries – Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, on the following themes: People's Participation, Institutional Governance, Urban Development, and Fiscal Management.

Bacolod City is the pilot city in the Philippines joining the DELGOSEA Project, after the province of Misamis Oriental that signed the memorandum of understanding on Aug. 14, 2010.

Ang said the Bacolod Youth Home will house children
in conflict with the law who will be processed at the Social Development Center before they are committed to the BYH.

She said part of the plan is the construction of a dormitory for girls, as R.A. 9044, provides that boys and girls who are in conflict with the law could not be mixed under one shelter.

Ang said the construction of the Bacolod Youth Home is the first phase of the implementation of the project. This will be managed by a consortium and all donations will be coursed through the foundation that will exercise transparency in all its forms, she said.*CGS

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