Children in the Philippines engage in the worst forms of child labor, including in commercial sexual exploitation, sometimes as a result of human trafficking, and in armed conflict. Children also perform dangerous tasks in agriculture and gold mining. (1-3,4-7) The Survey on Children indicated that 3.2 million children ages 5 to 17 engage in child labor, of whom approximately 3 million engage in hazardous work. (10) Table 1 provides key indicators on children’s work and education in the Philippines.

Source for primary completion rate: Data from 2017, published by UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2020. (11)
Source for all other data: International Labor Organization's analysis of statistics from Survey on Children (SIMPOC), 2011. (12)

Based on a review of available information, Table 2 provides an overview of children’s work by sector and activity.

† Determined by national law or regulation as hazardous and, as such, relevant to Article 3(d) of ILO C. 182.
‡ Child labor understood as the worst forms of child labor per se under Article 3(a)–(c) of ILO C. 182.

Children, primarily girls, are trafficked domestically from rural communities to urban centers and tourist destinations for the purpose of domestic work and commercial sexual exploitation. (31,32,34,39) Research indicates that the Philippines continues to be one of the top global Internet sources of online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC), which continues to be a highly profitable and growing sector. (33,34,40-42) Children are induced to perform sex acts at the direction of paying foreigners and local Filipinos, including family members, for live Internet broadcasts that usually take place in small Internet cafes, private homes, or windowless dungeon-like buildings commonly known as “cybersex dens.” (6,7,32-34,41-48) NGOs reported an increase in the number of sex tourists visiting the Philippines after first initiating contact with their victims online. (34) According to data from OSEC cases analyzed by the International Justice Mission Philippines, the median age of the victims at the time of rescue was 11 years. (6,32,34,49,50) In addition, according to 2019 data, the Philippines Department of Justice's Office of Cybercrimes received more than 45,000 reports of online child abuse and cybercrimes from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; research could not confirm the number of these reports that were confirmed cases of OSEC. (7)

During the reporting period, the government—led by the Anti-Money Laundering Council—conducted a study entitled "Child Pornography in the Philippines: Evaluation using Suspicious Transaction Reports (STR) Data from 2015 to 2018," which revealed common red flag indicators in financial transactions that may be linked to OSEC. It also demonstrated an increase in child pornography cases from 2015 to 2018. (34)

Recruitment of child soldiers by non-government militias and terrorist organizations, predominately on the southern island of Mindanao, remains a concern. (6,7,33,34,41,35) In Marawi City, many children as young as age 7 were recruited, paid, and trained as fighters by the Maute Group, a terrorist organization linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Research also suggests that the New People's Army, Abu Sayyaf Group, and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters continue to recruit children from schools for use as human shields, cooks, and fighters, while offering religious education and material incentives to join. (6,7,33,34) The Government of the Philippines continued to convene formal coordination meetings with the UN on incidents of grave violations against children, to facilitate appropriate responses to such situations. (7,34,51)

The most recent Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey, published in 2015 with 2013 data, indicated that 10.6 percent of all school-aged children did not attend school. (6,52) A more recent survey published in 2018 with 2017 data, the Annual Poverty Indicator Survey, estimated that of the 44 million school-aged children (ages 3 to 19), one-third were not enrolled in or attending school. The highest percentage of children not in school was in the newly formed Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). (7) In an effort to facilitate youth school attendance, the BARMM authorities provided the Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education the largest share of its budget for calendar year 2020. (7,41) In addition, the Department of Education made improving accessibility and resources for schools in geographically isolated, disadvantaged, and conflict-affected areas a top priority in 2019. (7) It identified nearly 7,200 schools (15 percent) as "Last Miles Schools," an initiative launched in July 2019 to provide additional resources to needy schools. Schools meeting this criteria must: (a) be located more than 1 hour away from the town center, (b) be only accessible through difficult terrain, (c) have fewer than 4 classrooms, (d) have fewer than 100 students, (e) have indigenous students comprise more than 75 percent of the school's population, or (f) have little or no educational equipment. (7)

The Philippines has ratified all key international conventions concerning child labor (Table 3).

The government’s laws and regulations are in line with relevant international standards (Table 4).

* No conscription (64)
‡ Age calculated based on available information (65)

The minimum age for work is lower than the compulsory education age, which may encourage children to leave school before the completion of compulsory education.

On January 10, 2019, President Duterte signed into law Republic Act No.11188 (R.A. No.11188), Special Protection of Children in Situations of Armed Conflict. (7,34,41,67) R.A. No.11188 provides protection for children involved in and affected by armed conflict. (7,68,69) R.A. No.11188 also requires that the Government of the Philippines take all feasible measures to prevent the recruitment, use, or displacement of children, or grave child rights' violations against children involved in armed conflict. (7,34,41,67-69) On June 4, 2019, the government enacted implementing rules and regulations for R.A. No.11188. (34,35)

For a second year, the Government of the Philippines reportedly continued reviewing proposed amendments to R.A. No.9231, that would: (a) increase the minimum age of employment from age 15 to age 16, (b) devolve the issuance of child work permits to local government units, (c) institute stricter working hours for children, (d) mandate that part of the money legally earned by children be set aside in a trust fund, (e) authorize the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to determine the types of non-hazardous agricultural employment or work that children ages 16 to 18 can perform, and (f) design a holistic intervention program for children working in the informal economy. It is unclear what progress was made in 2019 toward passing these amendments. (6,7)

The government has established institutional mechanisms for the enforcement of laws and regulations on child labor (Table 5). However, gaps exist within the authority of the DOLE that may hinder adequate enforcement of their child labor laws.

* Agency responsible for child labor enforcement was created during the reporting period.

A lack of resources, including staff, is an area of concern within law enforcement agencies because it impedes their ability to act quickly upon complaints of child labor, including OSEC, in both investigations and prosecutions. (34)

Labor Law Enforcement

In 2019, labor law enforcement agencies in the Philippines took actions to combat child labor (Table 6). However, gaps exist within the authority of DOLE that may hinder adequate labor law enforcement, including a lack of authority to assess penalties.

During the reporting period, DOLE's budget more than doubled due to the approval of additional labor inspector positions and the need to further support regional labor inspectorate operations. (51)

In November 2019, DOLE issued Administrative Order No.495 (A.O. No.495) mandating that all regional offices suspend inspection activities during the holiday season – from November 14, 2019 through January 15, 2020 – except for: (a) complaint inspections, (b) occupational safety and health standards investigations, (c) technical safety inspections, and (d) inspection of any establishment or industry as directed by the DOLE Secretary. (7,51) Complaint-based and other special inspections, under which child labor inspections are categorized, were not affected. Routine inspections recommenced on January 15, 2020. (75)

During the reporting period, the Philippine Congress provided the Bureau of Working Conditions (BWC) with an additional $560,400 in funding for additional trainings for labor inspectors, procurement of personal protective equipment, and additional supplies for enforcement activities. Despite this, enforcement of child labor laws remains challenging due to the lack of resources for inspections and the limited number of inspectors, especially in rural areas where many vendors are unregistered and highly mobile. (6,7,17,36,72) The BWC acknowledged that more specialized training on child labor is needed to enhance labor inspectors' ability to readily identify and act on child labor situations. (7)

The number of labor inspectors is likely insufficient for the size of the Philippines’s workforce, which includes approximately 42 million workers. According to the ILO’s technical advice of a ratio approaching 1 inspector for every 15,000 workers in developing economies, the Philippines would employ about 2,852 labor inspectors. (6,85-87)

During the reporting period, the BWC exceeded its initial inspection target of 64,000 by more than 5,000. (7) DOLE's Department Order No.131-B, Series of 2016 remains in effect, prioritizing the inspection of establishments and workplaces employing children. In addition, the DOLE Secretary identified the following additional priority industries for inspections: (a) construction, (b) manufacturing, (c) agriculture, (d) fishing, (e) Philippines Offshore Gaming Operations, (f) security agencies, and (g) hotels. (7)

Scheduling routine inspections is based on the national target set by the DOLE Central Office, with regional offices implementing their inspections based on factors such as prevailing industries and geographical areas. (6,7,73) Despite this, enforcement of child labor protections is not sufficient for children employed in the informal sector and in small- and medium-size enterprises, particularly in agriculture, due to DOLE’s lack of capacity and resources. (6,7,41,88) The Rescue the Child Laborers Quick Action Teams (SBM QATs) are permitted to conduct unannounced compliance visits to video karaoke bars, massage parlors, sauna and bath houses, and farms, but they are not authorized to conduct visits to private homes to search for underage child domestic workers. (6,7,72)

The government did not provide information on its labor law enforcement efforts relating to the number of worksite inspections conducted, number of child labor violations found, number of child labor violations for which penalties were imposed, and the number of child labor penalties imposed that were collected.

Criminal Law Enforcement

In 2019, criminal law enforcement agencies in the Philippines took actions to combat child labor (Table 7). However, gaps exist within the operations of criminal law enforcement agencies that may hinder adequate criminal law enforcement, including the ongoing government anti-drug campaign, which began in 2016, and did not ensure that children in the worst forms of child labor were protected from inappropriate incarceration, penalties, or physical harm. (41,89-92)

The government continued its anti-drug campaign, which began in 2016, and did not adequately protect children allegedly engaged in drug trafficking from inappropriate incarceration, penalties, or physical harm. (89,90,93-98) The government attests that 2,799 minors were arrested between July 2016 and November 2019 during anti-drug operations nationwide, of whom 879 were arrested in 2019. (7,51) Of those, 1,556 were identified as drug pushers, 732 as possessors, 353 as users, 139 as drug den visitors, 10 as drug den employees, 7 as drug den maintainers, and 2 as drug cultivators. (7)

According to a leading children's rights NGO, from January to July 2019, 13 children were victims of extrajudicial killings during law enforcement operations. (7,51) In addition, there were collateral deaths of children caught in the crossfire during police operations connected to the drug war, including a 3-year old whose father was the target. (7,92,99-105) Some high-level government officials suggested that killing suspected drug traffickers and users was necessary to wipe out drug-related crime, increasing the vulnerability of children being used in the drug trade. (92,93,103,106-108) The Philippine National Police (PNP) referred children involved in drug trafficking to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to receive shelter or rehabilitation programs through the Houses of Hope. (6,38) Research was unable to find evidence that the government investigated, prosecuted, or convicted police officers accused of killing children during anti-drug operations in 2019. (109-111)

During the reporting period, two women from Cebu province were given sentences of 21 and 26 years, respectively, for an OSEC crime. Both were arrested after attempting to offer to sexually abuse children online in exchange for money. (112,113)

The International Justice Mission provided Video In-Depth Interview (VIDI) kits to the PNP's Women and Children’s Protection Center (WCPC) to allow for an overall victim-centered approach during prosecution. The VIDI kits are an innovative case work approach to assisting child victims by reducing the number of forensic interviews and allowing them to avoid physically appearing before a court, thus helping to prevent re-traumatization. (34,51) During the reporting period, the use of VIDI kits protected 91 OSEC victims from appearing in court. (34)

The government has established mechanisms to coordinate its efforts to address child labor (Table 8).

* Mechanism to coordinate efforts to address child labor was created during the reporting period.

In October 2019, the Government of the Philippines, in collaboration with the Government of Australia, UNICEF, Save the Children Philippines, and the Asia Foundation, launched the #SaferKidsPH campaign. This 6-year campaign aims to strengthen investigation and prosecution of OSEC cases in the country, promote safe online habits for children through awareness campaigns, and improve service delivery for OSEC survivors. (7) Led by the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) in conjunction with DSWD, the Department of Information and Communication Technology, and the Department of Education, the #SaferKidsPH campaign will partner with a coalition of government agencies, educational institutions, private companies, and local community members, including parents and children to combat OSEC. (7)

On the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, the Governments of the Philippines, Bahrain, and Nigeria hosted a high-level meeting on combating human trafficking in migration entitled, "Combating Trafficking in Migration Contexts: Best Practices, Challenges, and the Global Compact for Migration." During the meeting, the Philippine government reiterated its solidarity in the fight against child trafficking, in particular, with fellow UN member states. (127) In November 2019, as part of the 4-year U.S.-Philippines Child Protection Compact Partnership, the two governments held talks related to progress being made in combating OSEC cases, including efforts to "provide comprehensive, trauma-informed care for child victims," as well as to mark progress in "efforts to prosecute and convict child traffickers." (128,129)

In May 2019, the Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) issued Memorandum Circular No. 2019-73, Profiling of Child Laborers, to provide guidelines on the roles of local government units (LGUs) in profiling child laborers. (7,34) The aim is to help LGUs provide all necessary interventions and remove children from child labor situations by: (a) identifying and profiling child laborers and their families, (b) assessing their needs, (c) conducting referrals, (d) providing all necessary services, and (e) monitoring the status of child laborers until they are removed from child labor situations. (7) In addition, as of December 2019, 38,811 barangays have established a Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC), which is tasked with handling concerns related to children. (34)

During its 41st session in 2019, the UN Human Rights Council approved a resolution put forth by Iceland requesting the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights produce a report on potential human rights abuses surrounding the anti-drug operations in the Philippines. (130,131) The report was released in June 2020. (131,132)

The government has established policies that are consistent with relevant international standards on child labor (Table 9).

‡ The government had other policies that may have addressed child labor issues or had an impact on child labor. (58,146,147)

In September 2019, President Duterte signed Executive Order (E.O.) No. 92 institutionalizing the National Council Against Child Labor to help further implement the Philippine Program Against Child Labor Strategic Framework. E.O. No. 92 formally changed the name of the National Child Labor Committee to the National Council Against Child Labor. (7,34,41,114-148)

In 2019, the government funded and participated in programs that include the goal of eliminating or preventing child labor (Table 10). However, gaps exist in these social programs, including the provision of adequate services for victims of child pornography.

† Program is funded by the Government of the Philippines.
‡ The government had other social programs that may have included the goal of eliminating or preventing child labor. (168,169)

During the reporting period, President Duterte signed into law R.A. No. 11310, which institutionalized the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), also referred to as the Conditional Cash Transfer Program. (7,34,170) R.A. No. 11310 designated the 4Ps as the national poverty reduction strategy and human capital investment program, providing conditional cash transfer to poor households for a maximum period of up to 7 years to improve the health, nutrition, and educational needs of beneficiaries. (7,34,170)

R.A. No. 11315, signed in April 2019, formally established the Community-Based Monitoring System, which is intended to collect, process, and validate disaggregated data used for planning, program implementation, and impact monitoring at the local level to raise Filipinos out of poverty; this includes data related to employment, income, and education. (7,34,171) Overseen by the Philippine Statistics Authority, data will be collected every 3 years by each city and municipality to create a baseline to enact poverty reduction programs. (7,34,171)

Although some specialized resources exist to assist victims of human trafficking, the Philippines lacked sufficient programs to care for and rehabilitate children who have been victims of online commercial sexual exploitation. (36) In addition, there are not adequate programs to provide insight on the impact of OSEC on child victims. (43,45,46,51)

Although the DSWD works in consultation with parents and community leaders to determine how best to assist children suspected of being involved in the drug trade, the DSWD does not have programs specifically designed to increase protections for or assistance to children engaged in drug trafficking to address their heightened vulnerability. (6)

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) continued to coordinate with the DSWD when dealing with children involved in drug trafficking. Upon PDEA turning over "rescued" children, DSWD transferred the children to juvenile detention centers, or "houses of hope" (Bahay ng Pag-asa), within 8 hours of the conclusion of their court proceedings. (6,7,95) In 2019, reports continued to surface that children in these detention centers are subjected to physical and emotional abuse, deprived of liberty, and forced into overcrowded and unhygienic cells. (41,95-98,172-175)

Based on the reporting above, suggested actions are identified that would advance the elimination of child labor in the Philippines (Table 11).

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26. Badilla, Nelson. Child labor: A problem ignored. The Manila Times, October 3, 2015.
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