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Davao City 1st district Rep. Paolo Duterte has described as an "alarming trend" the rise child labor cases in the Philippines.

“The incidence of child labor in many parts of the globe, including the Philippines, has tremendously increased over the years. This is an alarming trend. Children should be in classrooms to learn, and not in factories or out in the fields to earn,” Duterte said in a statement Thursday, June 22.

“We can help save the future of kids trapped in unsafe work environments by joining forces to provide livelihood opportunities to their parents and strictly implementing laws against child labor,” said the former House deputy speaker.

Duterte said these include the Anti-Child Labor Law (Republic Act [RA] No.9231), the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act (RA No.10364), and the Domestic Workers Act (RA No.10361), which prohibits the employment of children below 15 years of age as kasambahay or house helpers.

According to figures from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), more than 20,000 child laborers were profiled in the Davao Region in the last four years. The highest number of child workers in the region—10,797—was recorded in 2021.

The congressman's office recently teamed up with the DOLE’s Regional Office in Davao to expand partnerships with the private sector and non-government organizations (NGOs), with the end goal of safeguarding the welfare of children.

Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed that the total number of working children considered engaged in child labor was estimated at 935,120 in 2021. This is significantly higher than the 596,919 reported number of child laborers in 2020.

Across regions, Northern Mindanao had the highest share to the country’s child laborers at 14.8 percent as of October 2021. The Davao Region accounts for 4 percent of the total number of child laborers in the country during the same period.

During the World Day Against Child Labor, which was marked on Independence Day, June 12, Duterte raffled off 10 laptops for children. He said this was a way to encourage parents to prioritize the education of their kids, rather than pushing them to work for a living.

Represented by his son, Rodrigo Duterte II, the Davao City lawmaker also distributed 1,500 food packs during the event.

The second-term solon said he is eyeing to replicate the raffling of laptops and other learning devices in future events to help children of poor families in Davao.

He has also been backing DOLE’s Project AGAKKA (Alalay para sa Ginikanan Alang sa Kalambuan sa Kabatan-onan), which assists parents or guardians of child laborers to become financially stable by providing them livelihood or emergency employment.