SAN JOSE, Antique – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) field office here reiterated that any form of work that puts children at risk or in danger is against the law.
DOLE-Antique Labor and Employment Officer III Benjie M. Requintina said children are protected from hard labor under Republic Act (R.A.) 9231 or the “Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor and Stronger Protection for the Working Child.”
The law states that children must not engage or be employed in any work that threatens their well-being, interferes with their education, or hinders their growth and development, according to Requintina.
Child labor includes but is not limited to work in mines, slaughterhouses, construction, waste management and segregation, forestry and logging, fishing and farming, manufacturing and selling of alcoholic beverages, and tobacco and pyrotechnics production.
Individuals or employers proven to have violated the provisions of the law may face imprisonment from 6 months to 20 years or fines ranging from P50,000 to P1 million, or both, depending on the discretion of the court.
In 2022, DOLE Antique has profiled 1,609 Antiqueño children engaged in child labor and 698 out of the 1,291 who have been monitored are now out of harm’s way and exploitation.
Requintina cited the different government interventions directed towards the protection of children, including “Project Angel Tree (PAT)” under DOLE’s Child Labor Prevention and Elimination Program.
PAT provides child laborers and their families with gifts and various aid from DOLE and its intermediaries such as the Provincial Tripartite and Industrial Peace Council and the Human Resource Network .
Apart from the interventions by DOLE, concerned local government units and partner national government agencies team up to conduct needs assessments on child laborers and provide livelihood assistance and employment opportunities for their parents.
Despite these efforts, DOLE Antique emphasized that there remain child laborers in need of immediate help, hence their call for the public to immediately report cases and contribute to the agency’s #1MilyongBatangMalaya campaign. (PIA)/PN
