VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHML #3857/01 3400949
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 060949Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9109
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS MANILA 003857 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MTS, EAP/RSP, DRL/ILCSR 
LABOR FOR ILAB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI RP
SUBJECT: PHILIPPINES: CHILD LABOR UPDATE 2007 
 
REF: A. STATE 158223 
 ¶B. MANILA 788 (2007 Trafficking in Persons Report) 
¶C. 06 MANILA 5026 (2006 Child Labor Update) 
 
¶1. Summary: This cable 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 (reftel a). 
It updates information provided by Post in 2006 (reftel c) 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 and child trafficking. 
 
¶2. Sources of information used during the preparation of this update 
include the Philippine Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), 
the Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), 
the International Labor Organization (ILO), World Vision, and 
Winrock International.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
Laws Proscribing the Worst Forms of Child Labor 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶3. The Philippines uses a strong set of laws to protect the rights 
and welfare of children, especially those working in hazardous 
conditions or in the worst forms of child labor.  Republic Act 9231 
of 2003, "An Act Providing for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor and Affording Strong Protection for the Working Child," 
amends the Labor Code and codifies regulations set forth in the UN 
Convention on the Rights of the Child and ILO Convention 182. 
 
¶4. Republic Act 9231 defines the worst forms of child labor as: (1) 
the trafficking, debt bondage and forced labor of children, 
including recruitment of children for use in armed conflict; (2) 
child prostitution and pornography; (3) the use of a child for 
illegal or illicit activities, including drug trafficking; and (4) 
work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is 
carried out, is hazardous.  Criteria for categorizing work as 
hazardous include work that: degrades the worth and dignity of a 
child; exposes the child to physical, psychological, or sexual 
abuse; is performed underground, underwater or at dangerous heights; 
involves the use of dangerous machinery, equipment and tools; 
requires the handling of heavy loads; exposes children to extreme 
temperatures, noise levels, or vibrations; is performed under 
particularly difficult conditions; exposes the child to dangerous 
biological agents; or involves the manufacture or handling of 
explosives and other pyrotechnic products.  Those found guilty of 
the worst forms of child labor may be fined between 100,000 and 1 
million pesos (between USD $2,148 and USD $21,482), and/or 
imprisoned for 12 to 20 years. 
 
¶5. The Labor Code prohibits 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.  Children under 15 are allowed to work in 
the media industry, including cinema, theater, television, and 
radio, when the child's participation is essential to the 
production.  The law requires that any child under age 15 employed 
under these guidelines must receive a special permit from the DOLE, 
but does not define the absolute minimum age for employment by 
children.  The Armed Forces of the Philippines does not recruit 
soldiers below 18 years of age.  However, there were reports 
indicating that rebel groups including the New People's Army and the 
Abu Sayyaf Group continued to recruit minors (below age 18). 
 
¶6. Republic Act 9231 also amends the limits on children's working 
hours.  Children below 15 years are not allowed to work more than 
four hours a day, and work should not exceed twenty hours per week. 
Children below 15 years are not allowed to work between 8:00 p.m. 
and 6:00 a.m.  Children aged 16 to 17 are not allowed to work 
between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. 
 
¶7. Republic Act 9208 of 2003 criminalizes trafficking in persons, 
including trafficking for adoption, sex tourism, prostitution, 
pornography, the recruitment of children into armed conflict, or 
under the guise of arranged marriage.  The trafficking of a child 
brings higher penalties of life imprisonment and a fine of 2 to 5 
million pesos (USD $42,965 to USD $107,411).  Trafficking is also a 
non-bailable offense.  The law entitles victims and survivors to 
counseling, temporary shelter, health care, legal assistance, and 
access to the government's witness protection program. 
 
¶8. Other laws used by government to protect the welfare of children 
include: Republic Act 7610 of 1992, "Special Protection of Children 
Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act," which 
criminalized child prostitution and sexual abuse, child trafficking, 
child pornography, and other acts of child abuse; and Republic Act 
8043 of 1995, "Inter-Country Adoption Act," which ensured the 
protection of Filipino children from abuse, exploitation, 
trafficking, and/or sale. 
 
¶9. The Republic of the Philippines has signed and ratified the major 
international agreements to protect the rights and welfare of 
children, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 
(ratified in January 1990); the Optional Protocol on the Sale of 
Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography (ratified in 
April 2002); ILO Convention 138 on Minimum Age (ratified in June 
1998); and ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor 
(ratified in November 2000). 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Implementation of Laws Remains Limited 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶10. While Republic Act 9231's passage improved the legal protections 
for working children, full implementation of this law faces the same 
challenges as other social legislation: limited awareness and 
training in the law; low numbers of law enforcement, Department of 
Labor and Employment, or 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. 
 
¶11. DOLE is the lead government agency responsible for enforcing 
child labor laws through its labor standards enforcement offices. 
DOLE employs approximately 200 labor inspectors nationwide to 
monitor and enforce all aspects of the amended Labor Code, making it 
difficult to investigate complaints and violations of child labor 
effectively. 
 
¶12. DOLE leads the "Sagip Batang Manggagawa" (Rescue the Child 
Workers, or SBM) program, an interagency quick action mechanism 
composed of DOLE, Philippine National Police (PNP), National Bureau 
of Investigation (NBI), and DSWD.  The SBM interagency mechanism 
removed 1,693 child labor victims from harmful situations between 
2001 and 2007.  From January to September 2007, SBM conducted 49 
removal operations involving 138 child workers.  The minors were 
referred to the DSWD for rehabilitation and reintegration. 
 
¶13. Through October, DOLE has not ordered any closure of 
establishments employing child labor in violation of Republic Act 
¶9231.  Prosecutions and convictions for child labor continue to be 
limited.  Since 1995, six people accused in four cases have been 
convicted of violating the child labor law.  From January to 
October, three cases under the Act were filed and were pending trial 
in metro Manila.   DOLE's Bureau of Women and Young Workers noted 
that data on child labor prosecutions may be inaccurate due to 
incomplete statistics from the provinces.  In March, a DOLE-led team 
removed ten minors working in a garment factory in Quezon City, 
metro Manila. The government filed charges against the owner of the 
factory and trial was ongoing. 
 
¶14. The government continued to conduct awareness raising activities 
on child labor and child trafficking laws.  On October 24, 
approximately 40 members from PNP, DOJ, Commission on Human Rights, 
Bureau of Immigration, and DOLE participated in an orientation on 
"Sagip Batang Manggagawa."  DOLE also regularly conducted child 
labor training programs for their approximately 200 labor inspectors 
nationwide. The government acknowledged that the limited number of 
labor inspectors, who assess the establishments' compliance on 
general labor standards and are not entirely focused on the 
employment of child labor, made it difficult to enforce child labor 
laws. 
 
-------------------------------- 
Government Policies and Programs 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶15. The Philippine National Strategic Framework for Plan Development 
for Children, 2000-2025, also known as "Child 21," and the National 
Program Against Child Labor (NPACL) Framework are the primary 
government policy instruments for the development, implementation, 
monitoring, and evaluation of programs designed to prevent and 
eliminate child labor in the Philippines.  The Medium Term 
Philippine Development Plan 2004-2010 also includes measures for 
reducing the incidence of child labor, especially in hazardous 
occupations.  In the plan, the Philippine Government pledges to 
strengthen mechanisms to monitor the implementation of child 
protection laws; develop "social technologies" to respond to child 
trafficking and pornography; and implement an enhanced program for 
children in armed conflict. 
 
¶16. In August 2007, the DOLE launched the NPACL strategic framework 
for 2007-2015.  Under the new strategic framework, the government 
will create a national monitoring system against child labor, 
including a nationwide database of incidents of child labor.  The 
framework also included plans to establish Barangay (village) 
Councils for the Protection of Children.  These community-level 
councils would work with the DOLE-led "Sagip Batang Maggagawa" Quick 
Action Teams to improve monitoring and implementation.  Under the 
new framework, the government hopes to improve the access of 
withdrawn child laborers to education and health services, and to 
identify decent work opportunities for families and communities. 
 
¶17. The Philippine government participated in several U.S. 
Department of Labor-funded initiatives to combat child labor in the 
country in 2006 and 2007.  The key programs, implemented by the ILO, 
World Vision, and Winrock International, were: 
 
-- ILO-IPEC implementation of Philippine Time-Bound Program 
(PTBP): This program supported the Philippine government's goal of 
reducing the Worst Forms of Child Labor (WFCL) by 75 percent by 
¶2015.  The project, which began in 2002 and ended in August 2007, 
covered the six sectors of WFCL in eight provinces.  According to 
ILO-IPEC, the program withdrew and prevented approximately 42,400 
children from worst forms of child labor through counseling, 
education, and reintegration with their families. About 9,500 family 
members of child laborers received livelihood support such as access 
to micro-credit, provision of basic literacy and vocational 
training, and assistance in starting micro enterprises. 
 
-- The ABK Education Initiative: World Vision, along with a number 
of NGO partners, implemented this education component of the PTBP. 
ABK Initiative 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, 31,307 
children have been enrolled in formal or informal education in 10 
areas. 
 
-- Combating Child Soldiers: ILO-IPEC implemented 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.  In 2006, the project withdrew and/or 
prevented 302 children from armed conflict and reintegrated them 
into mainstream society.  About 40 percent (120) of these minors 
were enrolled in elementary grades, high school, or college, while 
the remaining 60 percent (182) were given vocational skills 
training.  Also in 2006, ILO conducted public awareness campaigns 
against the involvement of children in armed conflict through 22 
radio stations in Mindanao; 
 
-- 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 supported seven local organizations to conduct innovative 
and community-based awareness-raising and education programs in 
areas of high incidence of child labor.  At the end of the project, 
1,446 children have been withdrawn and/or prevented from child labor 
and enrolled instead in formal and informal education. 
 
¶18. In September 2007, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded USD $5.5 
million to World Vision, Christian Children's Fund and the 
Educational Research and Development Assistance Foundation, to 
implement a second phase of the ABK Education Initiative.  The 
four-year project aims to withdraw and prevent an estimated 30,000 
children from working on sugarcane plantations and other commercial 
agriculture plantations, as domestic workers, in commercial sexual 
exploitation, mining and quarrying, pyrotechnics production, and 
garbage scavenging. 
 
¶19. DOLE is also implementing a project, funded by the Geneva-based 
Elimination of Child Labor in Tobacco (ECLT) Foundation, to reduce 
the incidence of child labor in tobacco fields in the Ilocos region. 
 During the first phase of the project, DOLE awarded 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.  In October 
2006, the ECLT Foundation awarded about USD $400,000 to DOLE for the 
implementation of the second phase of the project.  With the ECLT 
Foundation funds, DOLE will provide scholarship grants to 86 of the 
100 student beneficiaries of the first phase, as well as two-year 
scholarship grants to 200 new beneficiaries. 
 
¶20. The government devoted considerable resources to the education 
of children.  The Department of Education (DepEd) had the largest 
budget of any cabinet department: 12 percent of the national budget. 
 Elementary and secondary education is free and compulsory through 
age 11, but the quality of education remained poor due in part to 
inadequate resources.  Government support for the education of poor 
children is provided indirectly through the public school system 
rather than through targeted subsidies.  For the school year 
2006-07, public school enrollment rate for elementary was 76 
percent, slightly increased from 74 percent for the school year 
2005-06. 
 
¶21. DepEd's Bureau of Non-Formal Education develops and encourages 
the use of learning modules for parents of working children in 
various regions with high incidence of the worst forms of child 
labor.  Translated into local dialects, the modules educated parents 
about their children's health needs and basic rights and 
opportunities for livelihood and income-generating projects.  DepEd 
also operates a home-study program designed to prevent students from 
quitting school due to poverty, illness, or early marriage.  With 
assistance from POEA and CFO, DepEd incorporated lessons on 
international migration (including illegal recruitment and mail 
order brides) into social studies and values education in public 
elementary and high schools throughout the country. 
 
---------------------- 
Child Labor Statistics 
---------------------- 
 
¶22. 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 January 2007 Labor Force Survey, 
conducted and published by the National Statistics Office, estimated 
that approximately 906,000, or 4.2 percent of the total 21.5 million 
children 5 to 14 years old, are economically active.  (Note: The 
Labor Force Survey cited a lower number of working children since it 
relied on "the past seven days" as the reference period used in the 
survey, compared to the national survey, which used "the past year" 
as the reference period. End Note.) 
 
¶23. The Philippine Time-Bound Program identified six specific 
industries employing worst forms of child labor: sugarcane 
plantations, pyrotechnics production, deep-sea fishing, mining and 
quarrying, domestic service, and the commercial sex industry. 
However, there were no available data on the number of children 
working in these industries.  In the 2000/2001 National Survey, more 
than half of the working children (2.1 million) were found in 
agriculture, hunting and forestry.  About 71 percent of the children 
in agriculture were male, and about 60 percent were aged 5-14 years 
old. Other industry groups where high number of children work were 
in wholesale and retail services (747,000 or 18.6 percent), domestic 
work (230,000 or 5.7 percent), fishing (208,000 or 5.2 percent), and 
manufacturing (186,000 or 4.6 percent).  During the assessment of 
the NPACL 2001-2006 in August, the National Child Labor Committee 
identified other industries employing worst forms of child labor, 
including commercial rice, corn, and banana plantations, and garbage 
scavenging. 
 
--------------------------- 
Combating Child Trafficking 
--------------------------- 
 
¶24. The Philippines is an origin, destination and, to a lesser 
extent, a transit country for children trafficked for the purposes 
of sexual exploitation and forced labor.  Children and young women 
from poor farming communities in the Visayas (the central 
Philippines) and Mindanao (the southern Philippines) are brought to 
major urban centers and employed as factory workers, domestic 
helpers or prostitutes. Victims of trafficking for sexual 
exploitation are generally girls, with ages ranging from 7 to 16 
years old.  Most of these children come from very poor families with 
unemployed or irregularly employed parents. 
 
¶25. Child prostitution is a serious problem, driven by the 
Philippines' popularity as a destination for sex tourists as well as 
economic and demographic conditions.  Sex tourists reportedly come 
from Europe, North America, and Asia to engage in sexual activity 
with minors.  UNICEF and local NGOs estimate that 60,000 to 100,000 
children work in the commercial sex industry.  DSWD estimates an 
increase of 3,200 prostituted children each year.  The American 
Center for International Labor Solidarity (ACILS) recorded 37 
incidents of child trafficking involving 97 victims for the period 
April 2006-March 2007.  The government cooperates with the USG in 
prosecuting American nationals under the terms of the U.S. PROTECT 
Act of 2003, which criminalized the commission by American nationals 
overseas of child abuse, including child pornography and other 
sexual offenses against a minor. 
 
¶26. The Philippine Government has no central database of trafficking 
information; however, various government agencies and non-government 
organizations document cases of trafficking.  The Inter-Agency 
Council Against Trafficking in Persons (IACAT) coordinates, 
monitors, and oversees the implementation of Republic Act 9208, and 
serves as an umbrella organization to coordinate anti-trafficking 
efforts.  The DOJ Secretary and the DSWD Secretary co-chair IACAT. 
Other member agencies include the Department of Foreign Affairs, 
Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, National Commission 
on the Role of Filipino Women, Bureau of Immigration, DOLE, NBI, and 
PNP.  Three NGOs representing women, children, and overseas Filipino 
workers are also part of the IACAT. 
 
¶27. The government has made progress in combating trafficking, 
particularly in the areas of law enforcement coordination and victim 
protection and assistance.  There were seven convictions under the 
2003 anti-trafficking in persons involving 20 female victims, 
including minors. All of these victims were trafficked for 
prostitution.  DSWD provides basic social services such as 
counseling, medical services, temporary shelter and repatriation for 
minors rescued from prostitution.  DSWD operates 42 temporary 
shelters for victims throughout the country; of these, 13 centers 
were for women, 13 for girls, and the remaining for men, boys, and 
the elderly.  Through August, the DSWD assisted 18 child victims of 
prostitution, and 32 victims of child trafficking.  Substitute 
homes, or havens, served the needs of female and child victims of 
trafficking and other forms of abuse.  DSWD also referred cases to 
accredited NGOs for children and accredited NGOs for women, which 
provided temporary shelter and community services to women and 
children in crisis, including victims of trafficking. 
 
¶28. NGOs such as the Visayan Forum Foundation, Virlanie Foundation, 
End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT), Coalition Against 
Trafficking of Women and Children, and the People's Recovery, 
Empowerment, and Development Assistance (PREDA) Foundation Inc. 
complement government efforts by offering counseling services, 
training, housing, and provision of formal and non-formal education 
to rescued child trafficking victims. 
 
¶29. See Post's input to the annual Trafficking in Persons Report 
(reftel b) for more information on child trafficking. 
 
 
Visit Embassy Manila's Classified SIPRNET 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