COMBATING CHILD LABOR IN THE PHILIPPINES

UNCLAS MANILA 001897

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/PMBS, DRL/IL, DRL/CRA, G/TIP
LABOR FOR ILAB
SEOUL FOR POL/C ERIC JOHN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV ELAB PHUM ECON RP
SUBJECT: COMBATING CHILD LABOR IN THE PHILIPPINES

REF: A. MANILA 0971

- B. 04 MANILA 4072
- C. 04 MANILA 0962


1. (U) Two DOL-funded programs in the Philippines (as well
as elsewhere in the region) are now focused on combating
child labor. According to the GRP, over four million
children are currently forced to work full time. Of these,
2.4 million are working in hazardous jobs such as mining,
deep-sea fishing, and pyrotechnic manufacturing, as well as
the commercial sex trade. Some children also fall victim to
trafficking in persons (TIP). Details of the projects
follow:

-- Community-based Innovations to Reduce Child Labor through
Education (CIRCLE) Project: This USD 5 million initiative
is the newest USG effort to combat child labor worldwide.
The project has an emphasis on preventing the worst forms of
labor that endanger and/or degrade children. Winrock
International, a U.S.-based NGO, is the main partner
coordinating this regional effort, which includes mini-
projects in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Pakistan,
and Vietnam as well as the Philippines. Winrock is working
through local NGOs and community-based organizations in
order to strengthen national and local institutions. The
projects also seek to improve the host country's formal and
non-formal educational systems so that children attend
school and are not forced to work;

-- ABK (first three letters of the Filipino alphabet)
Initiative: The International Labor Organization's
International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-
IPEC) administers this USD 5 million project in coordination
here with World Vision and the Philippine Departments of
Labor and Employment and of Education. The program provides
books, uniforms, and educational stipends to former child
laborers, allowing them to return to school. In addition,
it offers livelihood programs to parents to make up for lost
income from their children's labor. Other foci include
strengthening national policies to discourage child labor,
raising awareness of child labor, and promoting the
sustainability of anti-child labor programs run by schools
and government. The ABK Initiative began in 2003, when ILO-
IPEC began to identify children engaged in the worst forms
of child labor. The first group of beneficiaries enrolled
in school in 2004. More children will leave the work force
and (re-)enter school when classes resume in June. The
program is slated to continue through 2007.


2. (U) Labatt spoke at the opening ceremony of CIRCLE
Project on April 11 and Laboff addressed its Filipino
partners on April 14. On April 20, Laboff spoke at the
first annual meeting of the ABK Initiative Child Labor
Congress. Major media organizations attended the events,
providing newspaper and television coverage that highlighted
USG support.


3. (U) Next Steps: Mission will monitor the progress of
both projects closely through meetings with partners and
site visits. Mission will identify additional projects to
support the USG's goal of reducing the incidence of child
labor, a serious problem in the Philippines. We will also
seek to establish some new child-specific components in USG-
funded anti-TIP programs.

RICCIARDONE