Photos from Daphne Galvez/șÚÁÏÉç
MANILA, Philippines â Topher, 16, once left his home to escape his familyâs abusive hands.
For three weeks, he sought refuge in the rough streets of Parañaque City, begging for alms just to survive.
âNaranasan ko rin âyung magpakalat-kalat sa kalye, âyung namamalimos,â Topher told  in an interview.
Topher is what the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child would call a âchild in street situations,â or simply put, a street child.
During a forum with stakeholders, social workers and police officers, he was among 17 street children who voiced out their plights and their concerns.
Consolidating their own experiences and their concerns, these children presented their statements and their calls to action, accompanying them with art presentations, such as film, paintings, photography, and music.
Getting the message across
Lily Flordeliz, executive director of Bahay Tuluyan which organized the event, said that the ultimate goal is that the voices of the street children, who are âvery marginalized,â are heard.
ââYun ang target natin, para marinig yung mga issues at mga recommendations at problema ng mga kabataan,â Flordeliz told  in an interview.
âKasi âyun talaga âyung kulang kasi feeling nila hindi sila napapakinggan or hindi talaga sila pinapakinggan,â she added.
Authoritiesâ reactions, response
She said it is now up to the authorities and the stakeholders to act on the issues and respond to the call of the children.
âThe most important thing is nangyari ito so just wait kung anong reaction o tingnan natin how quickly they can respond to the issues,â Flordeliz said.
âNaiintindihan naman natin na marami silang concerns pero dahil very marginalized ang street children. The most important thing that we have to do is let the message comes across,â she added.
Stakeholders present during the event were representatives from the Childâs Rights Network (CRN), Commission on Human Rights (CHR), Philippine National Police (PNP), United Nations Childrenâs Emergency Fund (Unicef), Presidential Human Rights Committee Secretariat, Childrenâs Welfare Council (CWC), National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), among others.
The event coincided with the celebration of the International Day of Street Children
Street kids have rights, tooâ Â
Divided into five groups, among the topics they tackled were child labor, education and child protection.
Gabo, who is one of these children, decried the abuse and the unequal treatment that street children are experiencing.
âYung tingin sa mga batang nasa lansangan ay isang putik na kailangang walisin o kailangan ipagsantabi,â Gabo said in his message.
âNgunit nais ko po na malaman niyo na ang bawat batang nasa lansangan ay may karapatan din at may karapatan din silang magsalita nang naaayon sa nararamdaman nila,â he added.
Curfew? Where can the homeless go?
One of the policies raised that they deemed unfair is the curfew law, where children under the age of 18 are forbidden to dwell in the streets at certain periods, particularly at night.
âPaano naman yung mga batang walang tahanan, walang matulugan at walang matuluyan?,â one street child, Justin, pointed out.
âPaano naman po kami, kaming mga batang tahanan, kailangan po ba kaming ikulong o palayasin sa aming nagsilbing tahanan?,â he added.
Another street child, Erika, pushed for the abolition of the curfew policy.
âHindi pantay pantay ang pagtingin at pakikitungo sa amin, alisin ang mga batas na nagtrato sa amin nang hindi pantay. Alisin ang curfew law,â Erika stressed.
The street children also revealed that they are forced to take on physically-challenging jobs just to help support their families.
Child labor, lost youth
âKinakailangan naming magtrabaho upang makakain at makatulong sa pamilya. Nauuwi kami sa mabigat at delikadong trabaho dahil hindi kami nakapag-aral,â Kim said.
âHindi namin ramdam na ligtas kami. Napipilitan kaming ibenta ang aming katawan para mabuhay,â she added.
Elusive education
They also revealed that they cannot get an  education since they do not possess birth certificates.
Aside from this, they could not also afford the incidental costs of education, even in public schools.
âMaraming mga bata ang tumitigil sa pag-aaral. Wala kaming mga gamit na kailangan namin para sa eskwela at hindi namin kayang magbayad para dito at para sa iba pang requirements,â Reynold revealed.
Surviving in the urban jungle
Other topics discussed were survival and development, health disabilities, basic needs in life and family connections, and participation and freedom.
The children revealed that they are forced to live in the streets due to poverty, where there is no shelter, no food, no water, and no access to medical care.
They called on stakeholders and authorities to provide their families with shelter, and opportunity to have a livelihood.
âMagbigay ng maayos na pagkakakitaan o oportunidad para sa aming magulang, libreng edukasyon at libreng pabahay,â one child said.
âAbusive copsâ
Other street children bared the unjust treatment they receive from police officers.
Some boys from Quiapo, Manila, said that that they get tortured by police officers whenever they are apprehended, and even threatened with death.
âKami pong mga batang lansangan sa Quiapo, Manila kapag naguhuli po kami, tinorture po kami ng mga pulis at minsan po sinasabihan na âpatayin na yanâ,â one boy said.
âMasyado na po kaming ginugulpi at pinapahirapan ng mga pulis sa aming lugar,â he added.
They appealed for just treatment from police officers and fair representation in the government.
âSana po maiba naman po ang pakikitungo ng pulis tulad sa aming mga batang lansangan dahil po hindi naman kami basura sa daanan at wag po kaming ituring na kriminal lang,â another boy said.
âSana âwag na kaming gulpihin at ituring na kriminal at sana po âwag na kaming pagbantaan at patayin,â he added. /gsg