DoLE set to scale up efforts vs child labor

ALTHOUGH the Philippines is making significant strides in the war against the worst forms of child labor, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) remains relentless, saying that it would even «scale up» its efforts to combat the problem.

Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said that together with the whole Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) community, the government is intensifying its efforts to achieve a child-labor-free Philippines.

«As one community with one identity, we share one vision. We need to not only step up but also, and more importantly, we have to scale up. Today is part of our scaling up,» said Laguesma during the recent International Public Information Sharing for Asean and other countries in Asia held in Manila.

DOLE Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma. Photo from Department of Labor and Employment FB page

«There is no greater time than now to work together to further improve our existing policies and programs and enhance our collective efforts and practices to combat and stop child labor in all its forms,» he added.

According to the Special Release on Working Children Situation published by the Philippine Statistics Authority in July 2023, there were 828,000 children engaged in child labor in 2022, which is 56 percent of the 1.48 million working children. This is significantly lower compared to the number of child laborers in 2021 at 935,000. While the number in 2022 was higher than the 1.37 million in 2021, the percentage of child workers decreased.

Under existing laws, the minimum employable age in the country is 15. Hence, children from 15 to below 18 years of age are legally allowed to get employed or work provided they are not engaged in child labor. Child labor is any work or economic activity performed by a child that subjects him/her to any form of exploitation or is harmful to his/her health and safety, physical, mental, or psychosocial development.

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«The decrease in the number of child laborers shows the continued support and efforts of the department and its social partners in preventing and eliminating child labor in the country,» said Laguesma.

Also, the report on the working children situation identified