ILO: 2.4 million child laborers in Phl

MANILA, Philippines – An estimated 2.4 million children with ages ranging from nine to 17 are “employed” across the country, a report from the International Labor Organization said.

Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano cited the data yesterday as he called on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to step up efforts to curb child labor in the country.

Cayetano expressed concern about the figure and the fact that many of these child laborers are street children who are most vulnerable to exploitation.

He urged the DOLE and DSWD to undertake a joint nationwide campaign aimed at creating higher awareness on child labor and exploitation to protect the vulnerable children against those who exploit their innocence.

“We need to see more government agents checking on industries that hire child laborers and in communities where parents are known to force their children to seek employment,” Cayetano said.

“Government must also be prepared to support both the rehabilitation of the children and the parents,” he added.

Cayetano said he was concerned that a significant number of the child laborers reported by the ILO were engaged in hazardous work.

“Despite being a signatory to various ILO conventions that prevent child labor, the Philippines is known to have one of the largest number of child laborers in the world,” he said.

“The government has to find ways to alleviate poverty in the country and provide more opportunities for these street children’s parents to be able to provide for themselves and their families. Once we work on eradicating poverty, the rest will follow,” he said.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz recently announced that the DOLE is sustaining its presence in the countryside “in an effort to stamp out child labor in villages with high incidences of child labor.”

She said that for this year, the DOLE is targeting 80 villages to become child labor-free.

Baldoz said she has ordered the DOLE’s 16 regional offices to set the target to transform pre-identified villages where there is a high incidence of child labor to be child labor-free villages.

She said this will be done by reactivating the Village Council for the Protection of Children.

“In this program, we emphasize the important role of community leaders, notably the village captains, in identifying, eliminating and preventing the incidence of child labor and the illegal recruitment of minors in their own communities,” Baldoz said. –Marvin Sy (The Philippine Star)