Children cry for gov't protection
Chilren representatives from all over the
Visayas sign a solidarity statement to
promote child rights and welfare.
Photo by Maricar Calubiran
Some 142 children delegates in the 1st ABK (Pag-Aaral ng mga Bata para sa Kinabukasan) Initiative Visayas Children's Congress lambasted the government for its inaction to protect the children's rights and welfare.
This was contained in a statement signed by eight children representatives coming from Christian Children's Fund Inc. (CCF)-Oriental Negros; Educational Research and Development Assistance Foundation Inc. (ERDA)-Iloilo; ERDA-Negros Occidental; Plan Cebu; World Vision-Cebu; World Vision-Iloilo and World Vision-Oriental Negros. The names of the eight children signatories are withheld as they were used to be victims of worst form of child labor cases in their localities.
Iloilo is one of the eight provinces in the country which are placed in the priority list in the ABK Initiative Project. Iloilo comprised a portion of the estimated four million children aged five to 17 who are working.
The provinces of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Bulacan, Camarines Norte, Cebu, Davao and Metro Manila are also recorded to have worst forms of child labor.
The six forms of worst child labor in the country today are children who are in mining and quarrying, deep-sea fishing, and pyrotechnics production, which are highly dangerous. The other three worst forms of child labor are commercial sexual exploitation and children working in sugar plantation and domestic work.
The statement which was written in Tagalog and strongly worded states "ang batas na dapat magtanggol sa aming karapatan at magparusa sa mga lumalabag at umaabuso sa amin ay hindi ganap na naipapatupad."
The children added, the society has no sufficient knowledge on the bad effects of child labor to their entire being, future and whole community. At young age, they are already expected to earn a living in order to add income to their family. They lamented that they are working instead of playing.
The children also demanded the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to monitor all cases involving child labor and implement laws related to child labor. They also want to continue the coordination between government organizations and non-government organizations in order to combat child labor.
To protect their rights and welfare, the children called the government to organize and strengthen their Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC). Surprisingly, in Western Visayas only eight percent of the total 3,049 barangays have established their BCPCs. All these BCPCs are funded internationally.
The children also asked the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to monitor the creation of the BCPCs. At the same time, the children delegates called for the dissemination of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) for their benefit.
Moreover, the children asked that Civil Registrars Office should give free program regarding late birth registration, recruiters should comply with the required documents, Parents Teachers Community Association (PTCA) should consider all the school authorized contributions and their parents working in hacienda's should receive the minimum wage law.
The children also asked the government to promote the child friendly school and child friendly teacher in all schools; stop the cycle of child labor and the poverty through proper education. The children also asked to give alternative livelihood program to their parents; their parents should must also undergo parents effectiveness sessions and values education.