Gains of anti-child labor law lauded

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Loren Legarda lauded the gains of the 2003 Anti-Child Labor Law in reducing the number of Filipino children working in unsafe conditions, but acknowledged that poverty remains an issue.

Legarda said she authored Republic Act 9231 or the Anti-Child Labor Law and cited its importance since it was enacted into law on Dec. 19, 2003.

“RA 9231 has made a real difference in protecting children from hazardous work and providing them with opportunities for a better future,” Legarda said.

“However, we must continue our efforts to address the root causes of child labor, such as poverty and lack of access to education,” she added.

The law, among others, prohibits the worst forms of child labor, regulates the hours of work for children, ensures access to education and skills training, and sets penalties for employers violating child labor laws.

In illustrating the effectiveness of the law, Legarda cited Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) figures which state that there were 1.09 million working children aged 5 to 17 in 2023, down from 1.48 million the previous year.

Boys are more likely to be child laborers than girls, Legarda noted – of the 1.09 million working children in 2023, 647,000 were boys while 447,000 were girls.

The number of children in hazardous work also dropped from 935,000 in 2021 to 678,000 in 2023.

The situation for children is better compared to 2001, or before the enactment of the law, when there were four million child laborers, Legarda said.

“The decline in the number of working children is a significant achievement, but we cannot afford to be complacent,” she added.

Much remains to be done in improving the situation of Filipino children, who are mired in poverty, according to a study by the Senate Economic Planning Office (SEAPO).

“Filipino children are more likely to live in poverty than the general population as evidenced by higher poverty incidences since 2006,” SEAPO said.

Child poverty rate was at 26.4 percent in 2021 – up 2.5 percentage points from the rate in 2018 – affecting 10.46 million children, SEAPO said. The increase in child poverty was attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The highest child poverty rates in 2021 are recorded in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (44.2 percent), Caraga (44.1 percent), and Bicol (39.9 percent); while the lowest are in the National Capital Region (6.3 percent), Cordillera Administrative Region (13.7 percent), and Calabarzon (16.4 percent).