by Alexandra Sophia Espinosa

Educo Philippines conducted orientation on Child Protection and Gender-Based Violence (CP- GBV) Referral Pathway at the municipal hall of Viga, Catanduanes on February 27, 2026.  

Protecting children and addressing gender-based violence requires more than policies – it depends on whether families and communities clearly know where to seek help and how support systems respond in practice.

Under the Humanitarian Response Project implemented in partnership with UNICEF, Educo Philippines strengthened the integrated Child Protection and Gender-Based Violence referral pathway in Catanduanes through a series of cascading sessions conducted on 26-27 February 2026.

The sessions were held across four municipalities: Caramoran, Viga, Panganiban, and Bagamanoc and reached 253 frontline responders including VAWC officers, Barangay Health Workers, school personnel, MSWDO staff, and PNP-WCPD officers. By bringing together actors across sectors, the activity strengthened shared understanding of roles, clarified referral procedures, and reinforced coordination, which are key elements of a functional child protection system, particularly in humanitarian contexts. Discussions were highly practical, with participants raising real case scenarios and seeking guidance on referral thresholds, role boundaries, and coordination with specialized service providers. Contributions from MSWDO, WCPD and school representatives highlighted how referrals work in practice and underscores the importance of timely, coordinated responses, especially as schools and barangay duty-bearers are often the first points of contact for children at risk.

A key outcome of the sessions was participants’ commitment to adopt the integrated CP/GBV within their barangays and to reproduce and display referral pathway banners in public spaces, subject to available BCPC funds. These commitments signal concrete steps toward institutionalizing the referral mechanism and ensuring that information on protection services remains visible and accessible to communities.

A consultation meeting with the MDT of the PLGU Catanduanes was conducted last February 5, 2026 to finalize the CP/GBV referral pathway.   

The cascading sessions built on earlier system-strengthening efforts, including a February 5, 2026 consultation with the Provincial Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) of Catanduanes to finalize the referral pathway. Adapted from the province’s existing GBV referral system, the pathway was enhanced to explicitly include child protection concerns, making it more responsive to the heightened risks faced by children and survivors during disasters, an urgent priority in a typhoon-prone province like Catanduanes. Together, these initiatives demonstrate a strengthened, coordinated, and locally anchored referral system, one that moves beyond policy to practical application. Through collaboration among Educo Philippines, UNICEF, Provincial Local Government of Catanduanes, and other partner agencies, the CP/GBV referral pathway has been reinforced as a reliable safety net that communities can access and trust, in both everyday settings and humanitarian emergencies.