Drug trade now a family business

The drug trade has now become a family business among poor communities in Metro Manila, with young children comprising a high percentage of the "work force," according to a recent study.

The study, commissioned by the International Labor Organization-International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC), showed that young children in poor communities are recruited by their parents and older relatives to join the illegal drug trade.

"Based on our study, it’s the father, uncles or their mothers themselves who are encouraging the children to join the illegal drug trade," said Emma Porio, the principal researcher in the two-year study.

Porio said the results of the study indicated that 10 to 20 percent of young children in poor communities in Pasay City, Quezon City and Manila are now involved in the drug trade.