Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Philippines (Ratification: 1998)

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Article 2(1) of the Convention. Scope of application and labour inspection. Children working on their own account or in the informal economy. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that, between 2018 and 2022, the Government, through the Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE), undertook the task of profiling child labourers. The Government states that, between 2018 and 2022, a total of 620,556 child labourers were profiled by the DOLE, 614,808 of them were referred to appropriate agencies for the provision of necessary services, and out of these, 138,460 were provided with educational assistance, medical assistance, legal assistance, counselling, birth registration, feeding programmes, school supplies, hygiene kits, and food packs through Project Angel Tree. In addition, the families of these children were included in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Programme (4Ps) and received livelihood assistance, emergency employment, job placement/employment facilitation, financial assistance, medical assistance and housing assistance, with the aim of further preventing and eliminating child labour. While taking note of the measures taken by the Government, the Committee notes it does not indicate the proportion of profiled child labourers who were working in the informal economy or on their own account, nor does it provide information on the measures taken specifically to address the situation of children working in the informal economy.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that, in 2020, the DOLE inspected 14,741 establishments, during which violations of child labour laws have been identified in four establishments (which concerned: employing a child below 15 years of age; child pornography; long hours of work;night work; and hazardous work). The Government indicates that administrative proceedings are being undertaken by the DOLE against the two establishments, while the others two establishments have already corrected the noted violations. For 2021, the DOLE inspected a total of 58,805 establishments, six establishments violated child labour laws (namely: long hours of work; hazardous work; and employment of a child below 15 years of age without a work permit). In 2022, the DOLE inspected a total of 81,314 establishments, and found that eight establishments were found engaging children below 18 years of age in hazardous work. The Government indicates that the child labourers found during inspections were employed in the following industries: fishing, manufacturing, accommodation and food service activities, construction, and wholesale and retail trade. The Government indicates that for 2021 and 2022, all violations were corrected and children were removed from the workplace. It adds that in 2021, one establishment was permanently closed by the DOLE due to the death of a 17-year-old. In 2022, two establishments were ordered to close for engaging children in hazardous work which resulted in injury and for engaging a minor in prostitution.

While taking note of the activities of the labour inspectorate, the Committee observes that the establishments inspected were in the formal economy, and that no information is provided on the inspections in the informal economy. The Committee further notes that the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), in its concluding observations, urged the Government to intensify labour inspections and training of investigators, particularly in the informal economy (CRC/C/PHL/CO/5-6, 26 October 2022, paragraph 38(c)). Recalling that a high number of children involved in child labour were found in the informal economy, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to strengthen the capacity and expand the reach of the labour inspectorate services to better monitor children working in the informal economy and on their own account. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and to continue to provide information on the number and nature of violations relating to the employment of children and young persons detected by the labour inspectorate and the penalties imposed, including in the informal economy. It further requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of profiled child labourers who were removed from child labour and to indicate how many of them were working in the informal economy or on their own account.

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee takes note of the Government’s indication that the DOLE issued Department Orders Nos. 2163 and 2174, on 27 October 2020, which provide that one of the requirements for the application of issuance of a license to operate a private employment agency is a Notarized Affidavit of Undertaking, stating that the applicant shall “denounce and never support nor engage in any or all acts involving illegal recruitment, trafficking in persons, violation of Anti-Child Labour Laws or crimes involving moral turpitude or similar activities”.

The Government further indicates that it continues to implement: (1) the Special Programme for Employment of Students (SPES), requiring the participating employer to comply with the general labour standards and occupational safety and health standards, and not to engage the SPES beneficiaries below 18 years of age in any hazardous work or undertaking as provided for under existing child labour-related laws, rules and regulations (in 2022, there were 128,284 beneficiaries, and 36,313 beneficiaries in 2023); (2) the Strategic Helpdesks for Information, Education, Livelihood, and other Development Interventions (SHIELD) Programme Against Child Labour, which has been allotted a total budget of 21,066,048 Philippine pesos for 2023 (approximately US$370,000); (3) the DOLE Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Programme (DILEEP) which provides livelihood assistance to parents of child labourers; and (4) the Sagip Batang Manggagawa Quick Action Teams (SBW QATs) which conducted seven rescue operations where 99 child labourers were removed from hazardous and exploitative working conditions.

The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government on the progress made in the implementation of the Philippine Programme Against Child Labour (PPACL) 2020–22: (1) meetings of the National Council Against Child Labour (NCACL) and adoption of resolutions; (2) efforts to mainstream the programmes to address child labour at the local level. There are currently 14 functional Regional Councils Against Child Labour; and (3) international and local engagements and partnerships, such as the Action Pledge of the Philippines for the 2021 International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour and the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that an assessment workshop was conducted in September 2022 to evaluate the results of the PPACL 2020–22, identify gaps and challenges, and come up with recommendations for the next Strategic Framework and Action Plan. The outputs of the assessment workshop served as initial recommendations for the next PPACL Strategic Framework. Subsequently, on a special meeting held in March 2023, the Council members approved the PPACL Strategic Framework 2023–28, and during a planning workshop in April 2023, the Action Plan for the PPACL Strategic Framework 2023–28 was formulated and adopted.

The Government further indicates that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) launched the Bata Balik Eskwela in order to: (1) talk with and counsel children who had engaged in child labour and had stopped schooling, (2) conduct family therapy, and (3) liaise with partners including Barangay (village) Councils, school administrators, teaching personnel and civil society organizations. The Committee notes, that the DSWD, in collaboration with the ILO, developed a Module on Child Labour to raise the awareness of parents on the negative effects of child labour on their children and on their families’ future, and to teach them how to end this problem in their own homes and communities. The Committee notes that these efforts resulted in the removal of 148,331 children from child labour. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, according to data provided by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the estimated number of children in child labour was 597,000 in 2020, 935,000 in 2021 and 828,000 in 2022. Despite noting the decrease in child labour between 2021 and 2022, the Committee notes with concern the significant increase in child labour compared to 2020. The Committee notes, from the website of the PSA that a majority of children in child labour are boys (66.2 per cent) and that 61.6 per cent of children engaged in child labour are between 15 and 17 years of age and engaged in hazardous work. While taking note of the measures taken by the Government, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to progressively eliminate child labour, including in hazardous work. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken in this regard, including within the framework of the Philippine Program Against Child Labour 2022–24 and on the results achieved.