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For Children Who ToilA Report on Sustainable Action Against Child Labour in the Philippines


The book features the efforts of different institutions, what services they do and approaches they use. Most of the groups/institutions like the UNICEF, ILO through its International Program on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), DOLE’s Bureau of Women and Young Workers, DSWD’s Children’s Welfare Center, CO-TRAIN, Sagip Batang Manggagawa (SBM Rescue the Child Worker) National Child Labour Program, the DECS, NSO, TUCP and SENTRO cover direct services such as 1) promotion of justice for working children, where they provide community education for fiscals and other members of the judiciary and paralegal education for child workers; 2) detection and rescue, where the cases have been filed but all except one have been dismissed due to lack of evidence or loss of interest of the victim; 3) recovery and reintegration, which is largely provided by DSWD; 4) education, which is provided by DECS and NGOs; 5) support services and action, on priority groups of children to helping them root out the illegal recruiters. The volume also highlights the gaps and issues to be addressed to enhance collaboration and networking among various groups. They are: the need for strengthening the national coordinating mechanisms of government; the need for clarity of certain functions and jurisdictions; and the need for institutionalizing broader NGO participation in multi-sectoral task forces and bodies created to support action against child labour. It also identifies “best practice” elements based on Philippine experience; 1) NGOs are effective in providing direct services to child workers. The involvement of local governments, NGOs and people’s organizations is critical for effective and sustainable community-based initiatives; 2) Documentaries viewed by different audiences are effective advocacy materials; 3) Initiatives must be interconnected; 4) Adoption of policies and establishment of structures; 5) Advocacy must be done at all levels to secure government commitments.

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