PIP proposes declaring state of emergency due to child violence

Puerto Rican Independence Party Rep. Denis Márquez Lebrón insisted on the need to declare a state of emergency due to child violence and announced the filing of legislative measures to address the issue.

Legislators plan to question Family secretary

By THE STAR STAFF

Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) Rep. Denis Márquez Lebrón insisted on Wednesday on the need to declare a state of emergency due to child violence and announced the filing of legislative measures to address the issue, including a resolution to question the secretary of the Family Department.

“Last term, we managed to get the House of Representatives to approve the bill to declare a state of emergency for children, but it stalled in the Senate,” Márquez Lebrón said in a written statement. “The PIP insists that it is necessary to declare a state of emergency because cases of violence against children continue to increase.”

The PIP spokesman in the lower chamber announced that his delegation filed House Bill 1108, which proposes declaring a state of emergency due to child violence, as well as House Resolution 589, to question the Family secretary regarding the handling of child abuse complaints and the actions taken by the agency.

Márquez Lebrón noted that the legislative measure seeks to demand an immediate response from the state and the mobilization of resources to address cases of violence against minors, in addition to establishing oversight mechanisms for the use of funds and prevention protocols.

“It is essential to question the Secretary of the Department of the Family so that she can account for the number of child abuse complaints and how this situation is being addressed,” he said. “The country needs to know what actions are being taken, how the resources are being used, and what the protocols related to prevention are.”