The child labour laws of the Philippines provide adequate basic protection against illegal employment of children. The country has some of the strictest laws against illegal employment of children. However, trade liberalization is expanding the breadth and form of economic activities, to the extent that some of their variances may not be covered by existing laws and are also being taxed to the limit. Hence, the formulation of new child labour standards that are simple to enforce, yet broad enough to cover modern forms of child labour, is necessary.
There may also be a need to examine more closely the emerging forms of employment and identify the most repugnant so that efforts against them could be focused and intensified. In the area of subcontracting, for instance, we should find out which situations expose children to untenable hazards, so that specific policies may be developed against them.
The Philippine government has not been remiss in implementing programs that seek to protect and promote the welfare of the Filipino child workers. However, the interventions should be more strategic to take into account what is happening in the economic environment, and produce the greatest impact using the least resources.
It is also imperative that government step up its efforts at alleviating poverty. It should strengthen programs that promote employment generation and facilitation, as well as manpower development to provide adequate and remunerative employment among the adult population - to render unnecessary the illegal employment of minors.
Finally, since child labour is a social problem that threatens the viability of our collective future, greater efforts at bringing other sectors to join the fight against it must be encouraged. Only through multi-sectoral efforts can the child labour problem be effectively addressed.
