LEGAZPI CITY: Labor
and social welfare authorities expressed alarm over the increasing number of
child laborers in Bicol after a study showed that an estimated 300,000 children
in the region are engaged in hazardous work, an official of the Department of
Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Thursday.
The rising
figure prompted the DOLE to partner with local government units in the region
and the Department of Social Welfare and Development to pursue a vigorous
antichild labor drive, said DOLE regional director Nathaniel Lacambra.
Lacambra,
quoting a study conducted in 2011 by the National Statistics Office and the
International Labor Organization, said Central Luzon topped the list of areas
that have a high number of child laborers with 316,000 followed by Bicol with
300,000, Western Visayas with 250,000, Northern Mindanao with 248,000 and
Central Visayas with 225,000.
The study said
the country has a total of 30 million children with ages ranging from 5 to 17
years, of whom 5.4 million, or 19 percent, are working children.
The study also
said that majority of the child laborers are engaged in hazardous work like
prostitution, mining, construction and street vending.
Lacambra said
establishments being closely watched by DOLE are night clubs, videoke bars, and
other entertainment centers where operators hire minors as guest relations
officers (GRO) and dancers. - Inquirer
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