Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Philippines (Ratification: 2000)

Article 7(2) of the Convention. Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Ensuring access to free basic education. The Committee previously noted that schooling is compulsory and free for children aged 6–12 years. The Committee also noted the Government’s indication that the net enrolment ratio at the elementary and secondary level for the year 2006–07 was 83.22 per cent and 58.59 per cent, respectively. However, the Committee also noted the Government’s indication to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) that there is a serious concern about the increasing number of children who are not able to go to school, currently estimated at 4.2 million children. The Committee noted that the CRC, in its concluding observations of 22 October 2009 (CRC/C/PHL/CO/3-4, paragraph 65), expressed its concern that certain vulnerable groups of children, such as children living in poverty, children with disabilities, working children, children in armed conflict, indigenous children, children infected with, or affected by, HIV/AIDS, and street children did not have access to equal education.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that it is scaling up the alternative delivery modes of education to ensure that schooling is more inclusive and effective for learners, particularly those in difficult situations and disadvantaged settings. The Government also indicates that it is implementing Mother-Tongue Based Multilingual Education, pursuant to Department of Education Order No. 74 of 2009, as the use of a child’s mother tongue facilitates the learning process. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that it is implementing several initiatives to facilitate access to education for Muslim children and indigenous peoples. This includes the implementation of a roadmap for upgrading Muslim Basic Education, and the development of a National Indigenous Peoples Education Policy Framework. In addition, the Committee notes information in the Government’s report that it is developing a Department of Education Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Framework, for a holistic approach to support students in conflict-affected and disaster prone areas.

The Committee takes due note of these measures. However, it notes the statement in UNESCO’s Education For All – Global Monitoring Report of 2011 that there is a high concentration of pupils dropping out in grade one and that the Government has struggled to make the final step to universal primary education, reflecting the high levels of marginalization experienced by some social groups (pages 6 and 44). Moreover, this Report states that the share of young people in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (a conflict affected region) with less than two years of education is more than four times the national average (page 15). Considering that education contributes to preventing children from engaging in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure access to free basic education for all children, including children belonging to vulnerable groups. It also requests the Government to take the necessary measures to increase school attendance rates and reduce school drop-out rates, particularly in early grades, so as to prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour.

Children engaged in drug trafficking. The Committee previously noted that, according to the rapid assessment conducted by ILO–IPEC in 2002, children as young as 8 years of age participate in drug trafficking; the majority of these children are aged 10–15. For the city of Cebu alone, it was estimated that approximately 1,300 children are used for illegal drug trafficking with 80 per cent being male. It also noted that two-thirds of children engaged in drug trafficking were not in school at the time of the survey. The Committee requested the Government to provide information on measures taken to prevent the use of children for drug trafficking.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the measures taken to eliminate the worst forms of child labour will include efforts to prevent and eliminate the use of children for drug trafficking. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the specific time-bound measures taken to prevent the engagement of persons under 18 in the trafficking of drugs, particularly in areas where this worst form of child labour is prevalent. It requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved.

Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the information from the ILO–IPEC regarding the Philippine Time-bound Programme phase II, that the National Statistics Office is undertaking preparations for a National Survey on Working Children in 2011. The Committee requests the Government to provide, in its next report, information from the National Survey on Working Children related to the worst forms of child labour, including the nature, extent and trends of those forms of child labour.