BY: JENNIFER C. TILOS
NEGROS ORIENTAL, June 13 (PIA) The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Negros Oriental has commemorated the World Day Against Child Labor recently with an awarding of certificates of recognition to barangays Malingay and Canggohob of Mabinay town for attaining the status as a child labor free barangay in the province.
Hinterland barangays Malingay and Canggohob used to be the source of illegally recruited workers including minors to work for a fishing company or farms in Luzon area.
According to the school principal of Canggohob, Leny Anfone-Socorro, with interventions made by Maria Goretti Foundation, Inc, a non-government organization, the incidence of child labor had been reduced and families’ livelihood improved drastically.
Socorro who has been helping the barangay, was also recognized as instrumental to achieve the goal to make barangay Canggohob as a child-labor free.
She said Canggohob, where Indigenous People are located had high illiteracy rates before and with prevalent malnutrition status, but now the residents including children have enhanced significantly their literacy, the nutritional status increases including their livelihood.
This is also true in barangay Malingay where families were granted 26 carabaos and all school-aged children are enrolled in school.
According to regional director Chona Mantilla of DOLE7, this year’s World Day Against Child Labor highlights the plight of child laborers and raises awareness for stakeholders to take action and help attain the vision of a child-labor free Philippines.
DOLE’s child-labor free barangay campaign has a key role in the Philippine Program Against Child Labor which seeks the prevention and progressive elimination of child labor, Mantilla added.
It was noted that to transform pre-identified barangays with high incidence of child labor into "child labor-free" barangays is to reactivate the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC) in those areas.
Shortly after the awarding ceremony, Mantilla indicated to have an initial reorganization of the Provincial Child Labor Committee (PCLC) with local and national partner-government agencies.
This is to institute policies to eliminate the worst forms of child labor in the province. (mbcn/JCT/PIA7-Negros Oriental)