LEGAZPI CITY – To step up its advocacy against child labor across Bicol, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in the region is conducting seminars for parents and guardians on the risks it poses on the children’s welfare and education.
As part of the agency’s initiatives, 13 parents of child laborers in Camarines Norte were educated late last month on Republic Act (RA) 9231, “An Act Providing for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor and Affording Stronger Protection for the Working Child”, and oriented on its services including the Kabuhayan Program and Project Angel, which the families may avail of.
In an interview on Tuesday, Johana Vi Gasga, DOLE-Bicol spokesperson, said another seminar will be held in Camarines Sur this July and possibly also in other provinces of the region.
A statement from DOLE said community facilitator, Maria Theresa Rito, made seminar participants become aware on child labor’s effect on the overall well-being of children.
It noted the newly-oriented parents and guardians of the profiled child laborers are set to benefit from livelihood projects to be implemented by the agency.
Rito said children who work at a young age are forced to forego their education and many other youthful activities to contribute to the needs of the family. Due to lack of awareness, these children are easy prey to the exploitative and hazardous type of work.
In the statement, DOLE-Bicol regional director Ma. Zenaida A. Angara-Campita also said that amid the economic impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, thousands of Bicolano workers are challenged in the world of work, and while health and economy are the central and important issues, so is the social protection of children.
“This grim situation that our country is facing has brought much concern to us (the Labor Department) because it is not only the workforce who is greatly affected here, but also the children. We may not see its direct impact on them, but it has a toll on their safety, their well-being, and their future,” she said.
Angara-Campita noted that marginalized children are at risk of falling into exploitation as the pandemic wreaks havoc on family incomes.
“As we continue our battle to eliminate child laborers, we also strengthened our collaboration with other social sectors to help child laborers and their parents break the bondage of poverty that tied them to such dangerous work,” she added.
Meanwhile, the DOLE Masbate Provincial Field Office joined the city government of Masbate, through its City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO), in celebrating the World Day Against Child Labor last June.
The activity which was themed “Covid-19 and Child Labour: A Time to Act” benefited around 50 identified child laborers who were given hygiene kits containing alcohol, soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, face towel and nail cutter, and DOLE Batang Malaya mugs.
There was also an orientation entitled “Good personal hygiene, understanding Covid-19 and how to stay safe amidst pandemic”.
Last Thursday, around 100 child laborers in Albay’s Pioduran and Tiwi towns who were profiled by DOLE in from 2018 to the present, received various gift items including hygiene kits, educational materials, medicines and multi-vitamins, as well as food packs under the Project Angel Tree
Source: Philippines News Agency