Pagadian City, May 24 (PIA) – To
strengthen its campaign on the prevention and progressive elimination of child
labor, the Department of Labor and Employment recently announced the
pre-identified target barangays with high incidence of child labor which will
be transformed by the DOLE Regional Offices into child labor-free zones.
“The DOLE Regional Offices are already
coordinating with local government units as well as community leaders and
barangays captains to help minimize incidents of child labor and illegal
recruitment of minors. The DOLE anti- child labor program involves stricter
enforcement of child labor laws, knowledge sharing, and alternative employment
for the child workers’ families,” DOLE Sec. Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz said
during the nationwide launching of the child labor-free barangay campaign in
Quezon City.
She said that DOLE has mapped out
strategies to intensify the Child Labor Prevention and Elimination Program
(CLPEP). The strategies include preventing children from engaging in child
labor through livelihood assistance to parents of child laborers and
educational assistance; removing children from child labor through Sagip Batang
Mangagawa (SMB); advocacy activities; capacity building; and strengthening
partnership.
The DOLE’s effort is part of its contribution
to the goal of the Philippine Program Against Child Labor (PPACL) of
eliminating the worst forms of child labor towards a child labor-free
Philippines by 2016, Baldoz added.
The DOLE Regional Offices have listed 76
pre-identified barangays with high incidence of child labor or prone to child
labor activities.
In Region 9, the identified barangays
are Bulatoc in Pagadian City, Baybay in Liloy, Zamboanga del Norte and Sta
Cruz, Lumabangan and Market Site in Diplahan, Zamboanga Sibugay province.
The labor chief also directed the DOLE
Regional Offices to equip local officials with knowledge, particularly on the
salient features of Republic Act 9231, to enable them to effectively protect
children from the worst forms of child labor.
DOLE will also enhance its Kabuhayan
para sa Magulang ng Batang Mangagawa (KASAMA) project which is aimed at
preventing and eliminating child labor by providing families of child laborers
with decent livelihood opportunities.
DOLE is set to conduct series of
advocacy activities in the form of orientation, briefing, dialogue, symposium,
forum and campaigns to contribute to the formulation of ordinances against
child labor; creation and strengthening of Barangay Councils for the Protection
of Children; mainstreaming child labor agenda in the local development plans;
and forging of Memorandum of Agreement/Memorandum of Understanding/Accord. (DOLE/CAL/PIA9)