BALANGA CITY -- Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) convened Monday, December 16, key partner government agencies and stakeholders to assist in eliminating child labor in Bataan.
Dole provincial head Leilani Reynoso encouraged participating representatives from Public Employment Service Offices, and City and Municipal Social Welfare and Development Offices to provide the necessary interventions to child laborers being referred to their respective agencies.
“The government is mandated to provide special protection to all children from all forms of abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation and discrimination. The government can also intervene when a child’s life is at stake,” Reynoso stressed to parents and stakeholders who attended the activity.
She urged stakeholders to commit their support in the implementation of the convergence to address the increasing cases of child labor.
Based on the 2019 Profiling of Child Laborers conducted by Dole, about 1,232 were identified as child laborers out of 1,752 children profiled in the province.
“Most child laborers are aged 15 to 17 years old. They mostly engage in work related to construction, farming and marketing,” Dole focal person on child labor Ara Sumang said.
She added that Dinalupihan town has the highest number of child laborers in the province with 254 cases.
Hermosa comes second with 163 child laborers followed by Samal with 117. Abucay has the least with 20 cases.
In 2018, Dole has profiled 18 child laborers and their parents were provided with livelihood assistance through the Kabuhayan para sa mga Magulang ng Batang Manggagawa. (PIA-Central Luzon)