Sugar industry moves vs child labor in Bukidnon

BUKIDNON, Philippines  – The child labor issue in this province is being aggressively addressed, thanks to a new code that was recently formulated.

This proactive stance comes from the Department of Labor and Employment’s provincial office which along with the sugar industry’s stakeholders has put out a Voluntary Code of Conduct on the Elimination of Child Labor in the Sugar Industry in Bukidnon.

Aside from the Bukidnon Sugar Milling Co., Crystal Sugar Milling Co., the sugar planters’ associations in the province and the Sugar Industry Foundation, the project is also supported by the municipal governments of Quezon and Maramag, the District Tripartite Council, the Department of Education, and the provincial government in cooperation with the International Labor Organization.

The code, which is based on existing local laws and the International Conventions on Labor and Children, was initially implemented in five barangays, namely Butong, Salawagan, Poblacion, San Jose, and Merangeran.

This was done with the help of the Child Labor Monitoring System and the Child Labor-Free Barangay Program.

Under this system, cases will be monitored by the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children, which will then refer victims of child labor to the appropriate government agencies for help. Violators will be dealt with accordingly based on existing Philippine laws.