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

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

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Article 7(2) of the Convention. Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Ensuring access to free basic education. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in its report, that it continues to implement the Alternative Learning System (ALS) Act, which aims to provide adequate, timely and quality attention and support for the basic learning needs of out-of-school children and adults, including indigenous peoples, children living with disabilities and those disengaged from armed groups, so they can complete their basic education. The Committee further notes the Basic Education Development Plan 2022–30, designed to be transformative, and which seeks to address the root causes of the problems on quality education, close the access gaps and sustain and enhance relevant programmes. Among the Priority Development Areas set out in the Basic Education Development Plan, the Committee notes the following: (1) improving the quality of education for all students; and (2) expanding access to education for groups in situations of disadvantage to ensure inclusive and equitable quality service delivery.

The Committee notes, from the UNICEF’s statistics of 2022, that the most recent available statistics on education are from 2017 and show an adjusted net attendance rate of 94 per cent for children of primary school age and 74 per cent for children of lower secondary school age. The Committee further notes, from the concluding observations of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC): (1) the lack of access to quality education at all levels for children with disabilities, children belonging to indigenous groups, children from economically disadvantaged families, children in street situations and children living with HIV; (2) that 9 per cent of children, particularly girls, are out of school, including owing to marriage, pregnancy, disability, disinterest or high costs of education; and (3) the shortage of trained teachers, school materials and supplies, inadequate infrastructure and lack of transport, especially in rural and remote areas, and the impact thereof on the quality of education (CRC/C/PHL/CO/5-6, 26 October 2022, paragraph 34). Recalling that education is key in preventing children from becoming engaged in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee encourages the Government to continue taking measures to improve the functioning of the education system and to ensure access to free basic education for all children, by focusing on increasing the school attendance rate and reducing school dropout rates at both primary and lower secondary levels, including for children in disadvantaged situations. It requests the Government to provide information on: (i) the impact of the specific measures taken in this regard, under the Basic Education Development Plan; (ii) updated statistical data on school enrolment and drop-out rates, disaggregated by age and gender; and (iii) the results of the ALS Programme, including by indicating the number of out-of-school children who benefitted from the programme and were able to complete their primary education.

Clause (b). Removing children from the worst forms of child labour and providing for their rehabilitation and social integration. Child victims of trafficking. The Committee notes the Government’s information that, in 2022, the Recovery and Reintegration Programme for Trafficked Persons (RRPTP), which provides recovery and reintegration services to victims of trafficking, served a total of 459 victims of trafficking aged 0 to 17 years (127 boys and 335 girls). For the first semester of 2023, the RRPTP has served a total of 138 child victims of trafficking (35 boys and 103 girls). The Committee takes note of this information, which addresses its previous request.