CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Government and non-government organizations, including the business sector, unveiled advocacy billboards and materials on Wednesday, August 16, to raise awareness against child labor in this city.
OFFICIALS from ChildFund Philippines, the Kaanib Foundation Inc., Educo Philippines, the Department of Labor and Employment Region-10, and SM Cagayan de Oro City point to the advocacy billboard against child labor they unveiled outside SM CDO Uptown on Wednesday, August 16. (Franck Dick Rosete)
The advocacy billboards and materials, under Project Sustainable Programs for Education, Advocacies, and Knowledge (SPEAK), were installed in four high-visibility areas – Cagayan de Oro port, the Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Oriental, and two prominent shopping centers here, SM Cagayan de Oro City Uptown and Gaisano City Mall.
Diosdado Wana, program and sponsorship director of ChildFund Philippines, said through the advocacy materials, they aim to shed light on the difficult situation of thousands of Filipino children still trapped in exploitative labor.
"Hopefully, by doing that, we will be able to spark a continuing conversation and inspire action," Wana said in his opening remarks during the main program on Wednesday.
The four strategic locations, which are some of the most densely populated areas here, were chosen to easily spread awareness about child labor and gain support from the community in order to address the pressing issue.
CHILDFUND Philippines and other government and non-government organizations unveil their advocacy video against child labor on a digital billboard outside Gaisano Cagayan de Oro City, on Wednesday, August 16. (Franck Dick Rosete)
Children below 15-years-old shall not be employed, except when they work directly under the sole responsibility of their parents or legal guardian, and the children’s employment neither endangers their lives, safety, health, or morals nor impair their normal development, as stated in Republic Act No. 9231, an act providing for the elimination of the worst forms of child labor and affording stronger protection for the working child.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-Region 10 had earlier explained that child work is different from child labor. Child work is light work that aims to teach children responsibility, while child labor is hazardous and exploitative, which deprives children of their right to health and education.
Child labor incidence in Northern Mindanao has decreased, totaling 8.8 percent of the total children aged five- to 17-years-old and ranking fourth in the country in 2022. The region had the highest child labor incidence in the country in 2021, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.
In addition, the services sector became the employment hub for working children in 2022, accounting for 49.5 percent of the total number of working children. This was followed by the agriculture sector at 43.2 percent, and the industry sector remained to have the lowest share of working children at 7.3 percent last year.
OFFICIALS from ChildFund Philippines, the Kaanib Foundation Inc., Educo Philippines, the Department of Labor and Employment Region-10, and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines pose with the advocacy billboard they unveiled at Laguindingan Airport on Wednesday, August 16. (Franck Dick Rosete)
Lawyer Russel Sallorina, DOLE-10 assistant director, said they already monitored 7,442 cases of child labor in the region as of July this year. However, this is only 36.51 percent of the 20,381 targets.
"You should understand the difficulty because we have to look for these people, and some of them might already have come of age, so they are no longer child laborers," Sallorina said in a press conference on Wednesday, adding that some of them also transferred to other regions.
During this year’s Philippine Independence Day celebration, the DOLE-10 profiled a total of 1,254 parents and guardians of child laborers in Northern Mindanao, and they were given livelihood starter kits totaling P24,281,250.
Anand Vishwakarma, country director of ChildFund Philippines, urged the public to be the "driving force, the catalyst of change, and the true champions of a world where children are free to thrive and dream without bounds."
Advocacy videos can be seen on several monitors in the port and airport, while physical billboards are visible in SM and Laguindingan Airport, and the digital billboard can be seen at Gaisano City Mall.
The unveiling ceremony was also attended by the Kaanib Foundation Inc., Educo Philippines, and various government officials in the region.
The first unveiling of advocacy materials was conducted in Tagum City, Davao del Norte.