DOLE-RO3 conducts raids, planning workshops against child labor
by Angelo Banda (DOLE-RO3)

Volume V, Number I, June 2005 Issue

The Department of Labor and Employment-Region III conducted raids and rescue operations which saved children who are victims of exploitation in the manufacturing, industrial, and agricultural sectors.

This is in consonance with the objective of the Child Labor Program to bail out children from exploitative and hazardous work conditions and help them live a  normal life.

The rescued victims were found working in night clubs, karaoke bars, poultry/ piggery and firms that manufacture chemicals in Angeles City; San Fernando City, Pampanga; Bamban; Tarlac; San Isidro, Nueva Ecija; and Bulacan.

Relatedly, numerous cases of child labor were filed in courts.  Some of them obtained decisions favorable to the victims, while other cases did not prosper because of weak evidence or insufficient proof of violations of the Child Labor Law.

Casebook.  A piggery owner in San Ildefonso, Bulacan was found guilty of violating the child labor law.  He employed several minors whom he paid below the minimum wage.  The owner served six months in jail and was made to pay the monetary benefits to the victims as a result of labor standards violation.

Some workers rescued from a piggery, poultry farm and a chemical factory in Bulacan complained of having been fed raw pigs and chickens.  They were also made to sleep in extremely dirty quarters and were not allowed to leave their work places for months.

Another similar case happened in a food ingredients processing plant in Nueva Ecija.  Child laborers were locked up in a stinking, jail-like room after their work shift.  One of the victims was able to escape and report his employer’s abuses to the media and the police.  The authorities found out that, aside from inhumane treatment, the employer also violated the labor standards law.

With the strong support of Mayor Sonia Lorenzo, the media, Department of Social Welfare and Development and other concerned agencies, the children were treated at the Municipal Health Center and then sent to their parents in Visayas, immediately.

The most notably disappointing case also happened in San Fernando City.

With the efficient coordination of the SBM-QAT (DOLE, NBI, DSWD, PNP, PIA), a night club employing minors was shut down; its owner jailed.  Some of the girls were sent home, while the others were asked to stay to testify in court.  The complainants were surprised, however, when the case was dismissed due to lack of sufficient evidence.

In another child labor case in Bulacan, the workers charged their employer of grave threat and grave physical injury aside from violation of labor standards.  According to the workers, there were times when the employer pointed a gun at them, punched and hit them with hard objects whenever he was dissatisfied with their work.

The labor standards violations were immediately corrected but the court dismissed the accusations of grave threat and grave physical injury because of insufficient evidence.

Awareness.  The regional office also rescued children from white slavery and other forms of child exploitation.

The court’s sometimes unfavorable decisions notwithstanding, the Region still succeeded in making the community aware of its role against child labor.  Its raids and rescue operations delivered the message that no one is too powerful to escape the consequences of child exploitation.

Managers and human resource persons of various establishments are now aware of the consequences of child labor.  Some of them are now inquiring about the employment of minors. 

Because of this development, the Region is now focused on commercially and sexually exploited children as this was not given priority during the initial stage of the Program implementation in the region.  The office’s latest activity was an action planning seminar workshop held on 22 September 2004 at Bulwagan Pulugan, Municipal Hall, Marilao, Bulacan.

Prior to the activity, the Region conducted an orientation/ consultation meeting which served as an eye-opener to the action planning workshop that is aimed to steer actions that will serve the CSEC in Marilao, Bulacan.

Among the concerns raised during the action planning were lack of data on child labor; inadequate skills to handle child labor cases; lack of information dissemination to the general public; and limited social protection.

At the end of the planning session, the participants recommended, among others, the passage of more ordinances against child labor; reactivation of “Sagip-Batang Manggagawa” Quick Action team at the municipal level; conduct of capability-building seminars for those involved in handling child labor cases; and massive information dissemination. 

The local government unit of Marilao, Bulacan offered its full support to DOLE in its quest against child labor.