Antique: A total of 100 children-at-risk in Antique are beneficiaries of a government program that extends holistic and immediate interventions to child laborers and their families.

According to Philippines News Agency, Antique Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office officer-in-charge Careen Panaguiton stated that the children, aged 5 to 17 years old, are beneficiaries of the Strategic Help Desks for Information, Education, Livelihood, and Other Developmental Interventions (SHIELD) program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

"The children are considered at risk because they are being exposed to a hazardous work environment," Panaguiton said in an interview on Thursday. Their families earn a living by farming, fishing, and hauling heavy loads of charcoal and rice from upland barangays down to the lowland.

As part of the interventions, each child will receive PHP5,000 financial assistance, which will be released in two tranches during the school year 2026-2027. The beneficiaries are from the towns of Sibalom, Barbaza, Laua-an, Valderrama, Tobias Fornier, and Hamtic.

In addition to cash assistance, the parents of these children are also referred to government agencies for livelihood training, aiming to provide sustainable support to the families involved.