Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte has raised concerns over Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) 2021 data showing nearly a million working children in the country.
Citing the PSA report, Duterte said the total number of working children considered engaged in child labor was estimated at 935,120 in 2021. This was higher than the 596,919 reported number of child laborers in 2020.
“The incidence of child labor in many parts of the globe, including the Philippines, has tremendously increased over the years. This is an alarming trend. Children should be in classrooms to learn, and not in factories or out in the fields to earn,” Duterte said.
“We can help save the future of kids trapped in unsafe work environments by joining forces to provide livelihood opportunities to their parents and strictly implementing laws against child labor,” he added.
Duterte said these include the Anti-Child Labor Law (Republic Act 9231), the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act (RA 10364), and the Domestic Workers Act (RA 10361), which prohibits the employment of children below 15 years of age as kasambahay or house helpers.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte, father of Rep. Duterte, created the National Council Against Child Labor (NCLC) in 2019 through Executive Order 92 to amplify government efforts to protect the rights of children and shield them from all forms of child labor.