Sunday, April 28, 2024

Tag: Child labor in Bukidnon

Bukidnon has 15,000 child laborers, says DOLE

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CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Bukidnon has close to 15,000 child laborers, making it the province in Northern Mindanao with the highest number, according to the Department of Labor and Employment in Region 10 (DOLE-10)

DOLE defines “child labor” as including “hazardous work … which encompasses undesirable activities or work done in a hazardous environment,” and “work done for long hours of more than 40 hours and/or night time or the entire day.”

These children are working in the farms, doing domestic work, fishing, or even in construction, a DOLE-10 report emailed to MindaNews said.

The report, which profiled child laborers during the period 2018 to 2021, said that of Northern Mindanao’s five provinces, Bukidnon gained the top spot with 14,790 child laborers.

It is followed by Misamis Oriental with 10,382 (aside from the 7,793 child laborers in Cagayan de Oro City, the province’s capital), Lanao del Norte with 9,014, Misamis Occidental with 3,979, and Camiguin with 1,902.

In all of Region 10, DOLE-10 reported a total of 47,860 child laborers, 28,930 of whom are males and 18,930 females.

In terms of age bracket, the 15-17 range has the highest at 35,298, followed by 10-14 with 11,665.

“Notably, all provinces have child laborers aged 3 to 4 years old, with the highest prevalence in Camiguin and Cagayan de Oro, with 17 and 13, respectively,” said the DOLE-10 report.

“The desire of these children to help their parents is very strong that from school or after waking up in the morning, they would go to the fields to do manual work,” said Erlinda Sayago, executive director of the Kaanib Foundation, during a press conference here Wednesday.

Kaanib Foundation, DOLE-10, and the Child Fund Philippines are helping to decrease the number of child labor in Bukidnon and other Northern Mindanao provinces.

“It’s very hard to eradicate child labor in an economy relying on agriculture,” said lawyer Russel Jallorina, assistant regional director of DOLE-10.

Jallorina said work is readily available in Bukidnon’s agricultural fields, considered the food basket of Northern Mindanao where poverty incidence is among the highest in the country.

Sayoga said that aside from helping raise the income of their family, the children also look for work to pay for their school needs like notebooks and pens.

“When the schools went for online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was hell for the children. Many opted to look for work instead of attending the online classes where they have to pay for the Internet,” she added.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), in a report released July 25, 2023, said that there were 1.48 million working children aged 5 to 17 in 2022, or about 4.7 percent of the total population of 31.71 million.

Of these working children, DOLE said that 828,000 are considered engaged in child labor.

The number, DOLE noted, is lower than in 2021, when child laborers numbered 935,000.

Across regions, Region 12 (Soccsksargen) has the highest proportion of child laborers at 12.5 percent. Northern Mindanao is at the fourth spot, with 9.4 percent. Central Visayas is second at 10.5 percent, followed by the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region at 10.4 percent. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)

DOLE, ChildFund Phils vow to eradicate child labor in Bukidnon

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MALAYBALAY CITY – Bukidnon, an agricultural province with the highest incidence of child labor, is taking strong measures to combat and eliminate child labor

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that in 2021, the number of working children in the country engaged in child labor was estimated at around 935,000. Fifteen in every 100 child laborers were in northern Mindanao. The agriculture sector reported the highest proportion of working children, at 45.7 percent in 2021.

In line with its commitment to safeguarding children’s rights and protecting them from abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation, discrimination, and other detrimental conditions affecting their growth, the Department of Labor and Employment-Bukidnon Provincial Field Office (DOLE-10 Buk PFO), headed by Provincial Director Raul L. Valmores, recently participated in the project launch of ChildFund Philippines at the Ritz Hotel in Davao City.

The project, titled “Building Capacities of Civil Society Organizations, Local Government Units, and Government Line Agencies in Mindanao to Address Child Labor through Promotion of Acceptable Conditions of Work in Crop Agriculture,” is an initiative of ChildFund Philippines with Kaanib Foundation, funded by the European Union (EU).

This two-year project will be carried out in Bukidnon province, specifically in four barangays of Malaybalay City.

Project coordinator Alvin Dumduma said this would focus on implementing sustainable community-based programs to stir awareness and promote a better understanding of child labor; enact relevant government policies; establish efficient reporting, referral, and response mechanisms against child labor; and enhance access for child laborers to the government’s allocation of resources, quality education, and training opportunities.

Anand Vishwakarma, ChildFund Philippines Country Director, emphasized that the road ahead is challenging.

“Together, we are one step closer to achieving the goal of a country where Filipino children and youths are not deprived of their childhood, potential, and dignity,” he said.

Vishwakarma underscored the importance of a collaborative effort among the government, local communities, and other stakeholders in supporting children and their families.

The project launch aims to strengthen the capacities of civil society organizations (CSOs), local government units (LGUs), and government agencies (GAs) in crafting advocacy strategies, policies, and programs for the prevention, protection, and removal of children from hazardous and exploitative work in Mindanao.

Valmores said that DOLE is not the only organization concerned with improving children’s welfare, as it is a shared concern in the community; thus, a comprehensive strategy is necessary to resolve the daunting issue of child labor.

Child Labor Prevention and Elimination Program (CLPEP) Focal Mark Anthony Combong and Community Facilitator (CF) Clebel Guinayon vowed to go the extra mile to combat child labor and its worst forms.

Valmores explained that the Department is strengthening its implementation of CLPEP by transforming pre-identified barangays with high incidences of child labor into child-labor-free barangays in Bukidnon.

He said that for the first quarter of 2023, the DOLE-10 Buk PFO has already started its turnover of individual projects to 701 parents or guardians of child laborers, amounting to over P10.5 million.

Valmores reported that the EU project coordinator and a representative from Kaanib Foundation Inc. visited DOLE-10 BukPFO on March 16, 2023, to discuss collaborative programs between ChildFund Philippines and DOLE to address the challenges faced by child laborers and their families, including aspects of advocacy, education, and livelihood assistance.

The CLPEP is part of the government’s commitment to combat child labor through intensified efforts to achieve a child-labor-free Philippines.

The DOLE is the lead agency in implementing the Philippine Program Against Child Labor and the Chair of the National Council Against Child Labor created under EO No. 92. (DOLE-10/PIA-10/Bukidnon)