To help ensure that critical evidence supports the pursuit of truth and justice for victim-survivors, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) urged local government units (LGUs) to adopt the use of Sexual Assault Investigation Kits (SAI.Kit) in aid of investigations involving child sexual assault cases in the country.

The initiative fulfills the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to strengthen child protection efforts and recovery interventions for Filipino youth who are victims of abuse.

Through Memorandum Circular No. 2026-035, the Department urged LGUs to invest in the SAI.Kit, a tool developed by the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) DNA Analysis Laboratory of the Natural Sciences Research Institute (NSRI) to help address sexual assault incidents through forensic science and technology.

Launched in May 2026, the SAI.Kit provides a more comprehensive, secure, and accountable system for the collection, handling, documentation, and preservation of DNA samples and other critical biological evidence from child victim-survivors of sexual violence.

The DILG said the kit is intended to support healthcare providers, law enforcement agencies, and other duty-bearers in preserving the integrity of evidence for investigative and judicial proceedings, while upholding the rights, welfare, dignity, and privacy of victim-survivors.

As frontline responders to violence against women and children (VAWC) incidents, LGUs are urged to invest in the SAI.Kit and integrate it into their respective local plans, programs, and budgets to institutionalize its use at the local level.

The Department also emphasized that the adoption of the SAI.Kit supplements the operations of Barangay Violence Against Women (VAW) Desks, which serve as immediate access points in sexual assault cases.

LGUs were likewise urged to streamline the referral mechanism for sexual assault cases from VAW Desks to concerned offices through close coordination with local health offices, hospitals, law enforcement agencies, Local Councils for the Protection of Children (LCPC), and Local Committees on Anti-Trafficking and Violence Against Women and Their Children (LCAT-VAWC).

The Department said that through the cooperation of LGUs in making sexual assault investigation kits accessible, child victim-survivors can be better supported in seeking justice, with critical evidence properly preserved to help their cases move forward.