VZCZCXRO7473
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHML #5026/01 3520929
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 180929Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4307
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC IMMEDIATE
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS IMMEDIATE
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA IMMEDIATE 2171

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MANILA 005026 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MTS 
STATE/DRL FOR TU DANG 
DOL/ILAB FOR TINA MCCARTER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EAID PHUM RP
SUBJECT: PHILIPPINES: CHILD LABOR UPDATE 2006 
 
REF: A. STATE 184972 
     ¶B. 05 MANILA 3830 
     ¶C. 06 MANILA 944 
 
¶1. Summary and Introduction: This message provides input 
requested for the Secretary of Labor's annual report to 
Congress on the implementation of commitments to eliminate 
the Worst Forms of Child Labor (ref a).  It updates 
information provided by Post in 2005 (ref b) regarding child 
labor laws and regulations in the Philippines, law 
enforcement capabilities, social programs aimed at 
prevention, statistics on child labor and child education, 
and government policies and programs to combat child labor. 
 
¶2. Despite GRP efforts to combat child labor, it remains a 
serious problem.  Republic Act 9231 (RA 9231), signed by 
President Arroyo in 2003, has strengthened the existing 
anti-child labor code.  Criminal prosecutions and 
convictions, however, remain rare.  The International Labor 
Organization (ILO) and NGOs such as World Vision and Winrock 
International have made progress in identifying children 
engaged in or at-risk for the worst forms of child labor and 
mainstreaming them into the educational process.  According 
to officials of the ILO-managed Philippine Time-Bound Program 
(PTBP), funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, it has helped 
more than 38,000 children by preventing them from engaging in 
child labor or reducing the time that they spend in dangerous 
activities. 
 
¶3. Sources of information used during the preparation of this 
update include the Philippine Department of Labor and 
Employment (DOLE), including DOL's Bureau of Women and Young 
Workers, the International Labor Organization, World Vision, 
and Winrock International.  End Summary and Introduction. 
 
---------- 
Background 
---------- 
 
¶4. Estimates of the incidence of child labor in the 
Philippines vary significantly.  The 2000/2001 National 
Survey on Children (NSC) estimated that as many as four 
million children aged 5 to 17 years were economically active 
-- 16.2 percent of the total population of children in that 
age group.  Of the four million child workers, an estimated 
60 percent, or 2.4 million, were exposed to hazardous working 
environments.  The Labor Force Survey (conducted and 
published by the National Statistics Office) for January 2005 
revealed that about 2.13 million, or 8.4 percent, of the 
total 25.31 million children 5 to 7 years old, are engaged in 
economic activities.  The number is similar to last year's 
(January 2004) figure of 2.14 million. (Note: The Labor Force 
Survey cited a lower number of working children since it 
relied on "the past seven days" as the reference period in 
the survey, compared to the national survey, which used "the 
past year" as the reference period. End Note.) 
 
¶5. The Philippine government spends approximately three 
percent of its GDP on education.  Government support for the 
education of poor children is provided indirectly through the 
public school system rather than through targeted subsidies. 
The public school enrollment rate for 2005-06 was 74 percent, 
slightly down from 76 percent for the 2004-2005 school year. 
 
¶6.  President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed Republic Act 
9231 ("Providing for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor and Affording Strong Protection for the Working 
Child") in 2003, codifying regulations set forth in the UN 
Convention on the Rights of the Child and ILO Convention 182. 
 The law, which gave more muscle to the existing anti-child 
labor code, has not yet resulted in any convictions (see para 
14).  Among the industries employing the worst forms of child 
labor are sugarcane plantations, pyrotechnics production, 
deep-sea fishing, mining and quarrying, domestic service, and 
the commercial sex industry.  The Labor Code of 1993 and 
Republic Act 7658 also of 1993 similarly prohibit the 
employment of children under the age of 15, except when 
working directly with a parent and when the work does not 
endanger the child's life, safety, health, or morals, or 
interfere with schooling.  The laws require that any child 
under age 15 employed under these guidelines must receive a 
special permit from the DOLE, but do not define the absolute 
minimum age for employment by children. 
 
------------------------------ 
New and Continuing Initiatives 
------------------------------ 
 
MANILA 00005026  002 OF 004 
 
 
 
¶7. The U.S. Department of Labor funds several initiatives 
through the ILO, World Vision, and Winrock International to 
combat child labor in the Philippines.  The key programs are: 
 
-- ILO-IPEC implementation of Philippine Time-Bound Program 
(PTBP): This program began in 2002 to support the Philippine 
government's goal of reducing the Worst Forms of Child Labor 
(WFCL) by 75 percent by 2015.  The project covers eight 
provinces.  The goal is to rescue 44,500 children aged 5 to 
17 years engaged in or at-risk for WFCL by 2007 through 
counseling, education, and reintegration with their families 
(Note: The implementation of ILO-IPEC PTBP was extended to 
August 2007. End Note); 
 
-- Combating Child Soldiers: ILO-IPEC is implementing this 
program to reduce the incidence of child soldiers in 
Mindanao.  ILO-IPEC estimates that at least 2,000 children or 
minors may be child soldiers in the Philippines.  By November 
2006, the project had withdrawn and/or prevented 302 children 
from armed conflict and reintegrated them into mainstream 
society.  120 of these minors were enrolled in elementary 
grades, high school, or college, while 182 were given 
vocational skills training.  During the year, ILO conducted 
public awareness campaigns against the involvement of 
children in armed conflict through 22 radio stations in 
Mindanao; 
 
-- The Training for Rural Economic Empowerment (TREE) 
Program: The TREE program provides skills training to create 
economic opportunities in Mindanao.  One of the target groups 
for this initiative is 14-18 year old youth.  By September 
2006, a total of 1,210 beneficiaries had completed 
community-based training in vocational skills, such as 
welding, tailoring, food processing, pottery making, and 
dressmaking.  About 340 more trainees are expected to 
complete the training by March 2007; 
 
-- The ABK Education Initiative: Under this program (the 
education component of the PTBP), World Vision, along with a 
number of NGO partners, provides transitional or vocational 
education programs for working children as well as those 
identified to be "at-risk."  Since the project was 
implemented in 2003, 31,098 children have been enrolled in 
formal or informal education.  In May 2006, World Vision and 
its partner NGOs gathered more than 100 media practitioners 
in a National Media Summit on Child Labor to help raise 
awareness about child labor; 
 
-- Increasing Public Awareness and Capacities of National and 
Local Alliances through Program and Policy Advocacies Towards 
Realization of Time Bound Education Agenda: ILO-IPEC launched 
this program in May 2005 as part of the regional project 
"APEC Awareness-Raising Campaign: Eliminating the Worst Forms 
of Child Labor and Providing Educational Opportunities."  The 
project aims to engage key stakeholders through national 
alliances in the development of education materials, and 
conduct awareness-raising activities as well as policy 
advocacy for education; 
 
-- The CIRCLE project: On its second phase of implementation 
in 27 countries including the Philippines, the 
Community-based Innovations to Combat Child Labor through 
Education (CIRCLE) project funded five local organizations to 
conduct innovative and community-based education programs in 
areas of high incidence of child labor.  As of August 2006, 
986 children have been withdrawn and/or prevented from child 
labor and enrolled instead in formal and informal education. 
 
¶8. DOLE is also implementing a project, funded by the 
Geneva-based Elimination of Child Labor in Tobacco 
Foundation, to reduce the incidence of child labor in tobacco 
fields in the Ilocos region.  As of March 2006, the project 
has given two-year scholarship grants to 100 children, as 
well as alternative livelihood assistance and basic 
entrepreneurial training to their families.  The project also 
conducted awareness-raising activities for about 2,000 
participants in five municipalities. 
 
---------------------- 
PTBP Projects: Results 
---------------------- 
 
¶9. Significant PTBP achievements through November 2006 are: 
 
-- Child labor monitoring was included in the technical 
advisory visits and self-assessment training manuals of 
 
MANILA 00005026  003 OF 004 
 
 
DOLE,s Labor Standard Enforcement Framework.  Child labor 
indicators were also included in the Department of 
Education's basic education monitoring and evaluation 
framework; 
 
-- According to the PTBP, 38,653 children were withdrawn 
and/or prevented from engaging in the six priority WFCL 
sectors.  ILO-IPEC, through its partner organizations, 
provided them with psychological counseling, temporary 
shelter (and eventual referral to the Department of Social 
Welfare and Development -- DSWD) and basic health services, 
repatriation assistance, vocational training, alternative 
education, and/or help in preparing for formal schooling. 
About 1,300 adult family members of these children received 
livelihood support and assistance such as access to 
micro-credit, provision of basic literacy and vocational 
training, and assistance in starting micro enterprises; 
 
-- In collaboration with the Visayan Forum Foundation (VFF), 
PTBP launched in May 2004 an action program to target 3,000 
children in the domestic labor pool and mainstream them into 
formal or non-formal education.  By June 2006, the VFF had 
rescued 2,335 children from domestic work; of these, 545 were 
enrolled in formal education, 379 were enrolled in 
alternative education and vocational training, and 1,417 were 
provided psychological, medical, and/or legal counseling 
services.  According to VFF, the organization also prevented 
more than 1,400 at-risk children from entering the domestic 
labor market. 
 
----------------- 
Government Action 
----------------- 
 
¶10. DOLE participated in a number of programs and activities 
to mark the 2006 World Day Against Child Labor (WDACL) on 
June 12, including: 
 
-- Seminar on the Global Report on Child Labor conducted by 
ILO; 
 
-- Symposium on the operation of local government units on 
the protection of children, organized by the International 
Textiles, Garments, and Leather Workers Federation; 
 
-- Dental and medical mission for child laborers and their 
families in Bulacan, Central Luzon. 
 
¶11. DOLE launched on December 4 "Program Angel Tree," which 
highlights DOLE's commitment to eliminate child labor and 
alleviate the plight of child workers and their families. 
The program contains a broad array of social services, such 
as provision of food, clothing, shelter, mentoring, 
livelihood assistance, educational assistance, and other work 
and training opportunities for child workers and their 
families.  Resources for this program come from private 
donations and available government services. 
 
¶12. The National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) serves as the 
interagency steering committee for the GRP,s National Policy 
of Action on Child Labor (NPACL) framework.  The NCLC, with 
DOLE as the lead agency, is currently working on a new NPACL 
Framework for 2007-2015 and the Strategic Plans 2007-2010 to 
eliminate child labor.  A national summit on child labor 
likely will take place in June 2007 to present the new 
framework and strategic plans.  The NCLC, in partnership with 
the ILO, held a "National Forum on Child Labor and Mining in 
the Philippines" to mark the 2005 WDACL. Relevant government 
agencies, workers' organizations, employers' groups, and the 
social partners of NPACL participated in the forum, which 
presented the findings of a study on children in mining in 
Camarines Norte and the actions taken by NGOs and local 
government agencies to address the problem of child labor. 
DOLE, the Trade Union Congress, the Federation of Free 
Workers, and the Employers Confederation of the Philippines 
endorsed the ILO call to eliminate child labor in the mining 
and quarrying industries by 2015. 
 
¶13. DOLE leads the interagency "Sagip Batang Manggagawa" 
(Rescue the Child Workers, or SBM) program, which rescued 
1,562 child labor victims between 2001 and 2006.  From 
January to September 2006, SBM conducted 44 rescue operations 
involving 201 child workers.  The rescued minors were 
referred to the DSWD for rehabilitation and reintegration. 
 
¶14. Thus far in 2006, DOLE has ordered the closure of three 
establishments, allegedly engaged in prostitution of minors, 
 
MANILA 00005026  004 OF 004 
 
 
for violating RA 9231 (see below for further information on 
the child sex trade).  The trials on the three cases are 
underway.  Prosecutions and convictions for child labor 
continue to be limited.  Since 1995, only four people have 
been convicted of violating the child labor law.  There are 
nine pending child labor legal cases in Metro Manila, but 
there were no convictions in 2006. (Note: According to DOLE's 
Bureau of Women and Young Workers, this data may be 
incomplete due to a lack of statistics from the provinces. 
End Note) 
 
----------------------------------- 
Child Prostitution: Little Progress 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶15. Child prostitution -- one of the six WFCL -- is a serious 
problem, driven by the Philippines' popularity as a 
destination for sex tourists as well as economic and 
demographic conditions.  UNICEF and local NGOs estimate that 
60,000 to 100,000 children work in the commercial sex 
industry.  Most of these children are girls, and they come 
from very poor families with unemployed or irregularly 
employed parents.  Girls aged 7 to 16 years old are victims 
of trafficking for sexual exploitation.  There were no 
convictions under the 2003 anti-trafficking law during the 
past year.  DSWD estimates that the annual increase in 
prostituted children averages approximately 3,200. 
 
¶16. DSWD provides basic social services such as counseling, 
medical services, temporary shelter and repatriation for 
minors rescued from prostitution.  NGOs such as the Virlanie 
Foundation, End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT), 
and the People's Recovery, Empowerment, and Development 
Assistance (PREDA) Foundation Inc. complement government and 
ILO-IPEC efforts by offering counseling services, training, 
housing, and provision of formal and non-formal education to 
rescued child sex workers.  (See Post's annual Trafficking in 
Persons Report -- ref c -- for further information on child 
trafficking.) 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶17. Overall, the Philippine government is trying to combat 
child labor, but it remains a serious problem.  While RA 9231 
strengthened and criminalized many elements of child labor, 
full implementation of this law faces the same challenges as 
other social legislation: limited awareness and training in 
the new law; low numbers of law enforcement and Department of 
Justice (DOJ) resources; a lack of focus on enforcement; and 
a lengthy prosecution process.  The continuing challenge, as 
with combating trafficking in persons, is to translate 
existing laws into increased prosecutions and convictions in 
order to catch perpetrators and deter future violations of 
international norms and Philippine law, as well as alleviate 
the underlying economic and social conditions that perpetuate 
child labor. 
 
 
Visit Embassy Manila's Classified website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm 
 
You can also access this site through the State Department's 
Classified SIPRNET website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/ 
 
 
KENNEY