The report released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) revealed that over one million children in the Philippines are currently engaged in child labor.
This alarming statistic has prompted the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to intensify its efforts in combatting this issue.
The 'Special Release on Working Children Situation for 2019 to 2021' published by the PSA revealed that there are currently 1.37 million, translating to 4.3%, children working in the country.
In 2019, the number of working children was 1.05 million, or 3.4%. This dropped in the next year, with 0.87 million, or 2.8%.
Many of these children work in the agricultural sector, and the Northern Mindanao region has the highest incidence of child labor.
In response to these findings, Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma announced that the DOLE will be stepping up its monitoring of child laborers and taking concrete steps to remove them from these exploitative and dangerous work situations.
From 2018 to 2022, the DOLE has already profiled over 620,000 child laborers, referred over 614,000 of them to the appropriate agencies and organizations, provided services to over 138,000 of them, and successfully removed over 148,000 of them from child labor.
As 2023 enters, DOLE's top priority will be to remove the 160,288 children who were profiled as child laborers in 2022.
This will involve a concerted effort from the government, NGOs, and other stakeholders to provide these children with the education, support, and opportunities they need to thrive and break the cycle of poverty that often leads to child labor.
