A few faces of child labor in PH

MANILA — Child labor remains to be a serious problem in the Philippines, with millions of children working in hazardous circumstances.

Many Filipino children are forced to leave school in order to help their families earn a living.

According to data from the International Labor Organization (ILO), central Luzon has the highest number of child labor cases in the country at 316,000, followed by the Bicol region with 304,000 cases.

The third region with the highest child labor cases is western Visayas at 255,000, followed by northern Mindanao with 246,000.

Scavenger boy in Iloilo

Eleven-year-old “Paul” every day collects plastics and bottles from a dumpsite in Iloilo, not minding the foul smell from the truckloads of garbage thrown there, just to augment his parents’ income.

In a day’s work, Paul earns roughly P100, which he and his family would have to budget for their food.

His mother said she did not want Paul to start working at such an early age, but admitted they were left with no choice.

Paul has seven siblings.

A teenage boy in Cagayan de Oro, meanwhile, has found work in a river.

“Junjun,” 15, should have been a high school student by now, but is still stuck in Grade 6 with his 13-year-old sibling, “Dodong.”

He has been forced to leave school many times already since they don’t have enough money for school.

His teacher said Junjun is also often absent from school due to his work.

After school every day, Junjun dives into the river and hauls sand from its bottom.

If he is able to fill the boat with sand, he earns P300.

3 siblings quarry decorative rocks

In Camarines Sur, three siblings had to forgo school and help their family earn a living with a back-breaking work.

Seventeen-year-old “Joey,” 12-year-old “Arlene,” and 9-year-old “Eric” quarry araal stones from a mountain in Barangay Maangas, Presentacion, not minding the danger their work entails.

Araal stones are commonly used for landscaping in hotels and resorts.

Armed only with shovels, the three kids would first have to break the rocks in little pieces before bringing them down from the mountain manually.

For every cubic meter of araal stone, the siblings earn P1,000. — With reports from Bea Zaragosa, ABS-CBN News Iloilo; PJ dela Peña, ABS-CBN News Cagayan de Oro; Jonathan Magistrado, ABS-CBN News Bicol