ILO taps NSO to conduct survey on child labor situation in PHL

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte, Aug. 25 (PIA) -– The International Labor Organization (ILO) has tapped the National Statistics Office (NSO) in conducting a survey to find out the extent of child labor situation in the Philippines.

Mr. Pepe Nebril, ILO Coordinator for Northern Samar informed the members of the Regional Child Labor Committee of Eastern Visayas in a two day conference in Ormoc City, that the International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC), ILO has partnered with the Department of Labor and Employment to end the worst forms of child labor in five years.

One of the component of the project is the conduct of a nationwide survey to find out the extent of child labor situation in the Philippines. The latest data is dated 2001, Mr. Nebril said.

The first leg of survey will focus on key areas of the country such as Masbate, Northern Samar, Quezon and Bukidnon¸ where there are high incident reports of child labor in agriculture, mining and commercial industries.

Reports stated that there are at least 2.4 million working children in the Philippines, Mr. Nebril said.

He however, underscored that “when it comes to child labor, the Philippines is not an isolated case. Child labor also prevails in the different parts of the world, and the root cause is really poverty.”

In the Philippines, child laborers are often deprived of a decent education and robbed of their childhood in order to help alleviate their families from the depths of poverty.

Many of them have to risk their health and safety to put food on the table. Some of them have even sacrificed their dignity just to earn some money.

“It’s one thing to say that child labor is wrong, but another thing to get together and find a solution to it. The poor families have to do what they can to survive, Mr. Nebril added.

In order to really plan for specific strategies that will minimize the problem of the worst forms of labor in the country, it is vital that the latest statistics are available. Thus, the survey that will be conducted by NSO in October of this year, is a must. (PIA 8)