This is a compilation of child labour situationers in the provinces of Batangas, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal.
The 1995 field survey in the four provinces placed the number of child labourers at 1,904. This represents 0.07 percent of the total child population of the area by the survey in the same year. Of these child labourers covered, Batangas accounted for 36.03 percent, Laguna 32.14 percent, Cavite 16.28 percent and Rizal 15.55 percent.
The most common type of occupation children are engaged in include construction and related activities with 22.06 percent; factory work, cottage industry and related occupations 22.01 percent; service related, 29.10 percent; transport services, 1.43 percent; and others, 1.00 percent.
In general, this proportion of child labourers increases as the age increases. For the four provinces, two out of five child labourers are between ages 17 and 18; one out of three is 15 to 16; one out of five is 13 to 14 and the rest are 12 years old and below.
Very few of the child labourers have completed high school while almost 3 out of 10 have reached high school but were unable to graduate. More than a quarter, 25.74 percent, have completed elementary education while 21.06 percent have reached only elementary level but did not finish.
The study concludes that child labour is primarily rooted in poverty. Another factor that could influence the level of child labour is migration, which is also related to poverty. It has been observed that to a certain extent, migration is one factor that accounts for the increase of child labour.
The study therefore recommends the following:
1. Develop and sustain community-based action programs on child labour;
2. Strengthen local or community structures to monitor and act on child labour cases, abuse and exploitation;
3. Mobilization and capability building/advocacy of law enforcement agencies in the fight against child labour;
4. Undertake massive and focused advocacy on the rights of children in general and on child labour in particular through the local media;
5. Formulate long-term strategy that will lead to the value shift regarding child work vis-à-vis child labour;
6. Implement capacity building for child labour implementers and the community to enhance their capability in the prevention, rescue and rehabilitation of child labourers;
7. Intensify provision of basic services on health, nutrition, education, income generation to the child labourers and their families, including expansion of scholarship programs and designs of alternative mechanisms to enable child labourers pursue a higher level of education;
8. Continuous updating of local database through regular master listing of child labourers in the community as guide for focused targeting and intervention and to serve as an advocacy tool; and,
9. Engage active participation of socio-civic organizations, NGOs, churches, employer groups, labour unions, the business community, among others, as partners in eliminating child labour.
