DOLE says progress made vs child labor

BAGUIO CITY—The government has made progress in curbing child labor in poor communities, a campaign being waged alongside major projects to combat poverty, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said here on Monday.

Baldoz was here to distribute certificates honoring more than 500 Baguio companies for their zero-child labor status.

She also proceeded to Sagada town in Mountain Province to honor six villages, which succeeded in reducing cases of child labor, particularly in small-scale mining sites.

“These are very urgent reforms—[and] we have institutionalized these reforms in child labor-free establishments and child labor-free villages, which are part of the government’s social reform agenda,” Baldoz told the Inquirer.

She said the Department of Labor and Employment works closely with the Department of Social Welfare and Development in programs aimed at rescuing more than 100,000 families identified by the 2009 National Housing Targeting System as poor and in need of aid.

The number of poor families has since risen to 364,036.

Most child labor cases occur in the same poor communities where tradition and survival compel children to help their families earn a living, Baldoz said. Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon