$15-M US grant to combat child labor in Philippines

WASHINGTON – US Labor Secretary Hilda Solis on Monday announced a grant of $15 million for a project to combat exploitative child labor in sugarcane growing areas in the Philippines.

The grant was awarded to World Vision to – among other things – increase children’s access to quality education and promote sustainable livelihoods for children’s households. It is estimated that four million Filipino children aged 5-17 are working in hazardous or inhumane conditions in agriculture, mining, and fishing industries and many more are sexually exploited.

“The Philippine government welcomes the innovative initiative of the US government, through the Department of Labor, in fighting exploitative child labor, in terms of programmatic interventions and policy recommendations,” Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Cuisia Jr. said.

Cuisia attended the formal launching of the grant. Also present was Senator Tom Harkin, a champion of child labor issues in the US Congress.

Cuisia said the grant complements the social development framework of the Philippine Development Plan for 2011-2016.

An earlier $5.5-million grant to World Vision-Philippines from the US labor department was instrumental in rescuing 61,000 Filipino children from oppressive labor conditions. The grant was for a four-year anti-child labor project, which ended last month. – Pia Lee Brago