Hannah Princess Taguinod, kid labor focal individual of the DSWD’s Strategic Helpdesks for Information, Education, Livelihood and Other Developmental Interventions (Shield) versus Child Labor task, shared the figures throughout the Isyu Karon media online forum at The Royal Mandaya Hotel on Friday, Nov. 6.
“As of now, ma’am, 2026, naa nay 85 kabuok na mga bachelor’s degree na nag-withdraw sa kid workers, Ma’am (As of 2026, we have actually withdrawn 85 kids from kid labor),” Taguinod stated.
She clarified that the 3,819 kid workers taped in the area originated from 2025 profiling performed by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and Public Employment Service Offices (PESOs). Profiling for 2026 stays continuous.
“So kanang 3,819, 2025 na siya nga information. As of na sa 2026, continuous gihapon ang profiling,” she stated. (The 3,819 figure is from 2025. Profiling for 2026 is still continuous.) Davao de Oro tops list
Davao de Oro tape-recorded the greatest variety of profiled kid workers in the area with 1,108, representing almost 3 in 10 of the overall.
Davao City followed with 880, Davao Oriental with 617, Davao Occidental with 553, Davao del Norte with 433, and Davao del Sur with 228.
Taguinod stated she focused on Davao de Oro this year to help in reducing kid labor in the province.
“So, kana ako ang gipriority this year, ma’am, para lang jud mabawasan na ang kid labor sa Davao de Oro (That’s why I made Davao de Oro a top priority this year, to help in reducing kid labor in the province),” she stated.
She stated kids in the provinces are frequently exposed to operate in farming, aquaculture, fishing, farming, and mining.
Throughout a focus group conversation with kid workers on Aug. 2, some kids revealed that they operated in mining and building and construction, while others stated they brought heavy visit farms.
‘We may all pass away of cravings’
Taguinod stated some kids felt they had no option however to work due to the fact that their households depended upon their profits to put food on the table.
One kid informed her that the household might starve if the kid quit working.
“So, ana siya kung dili ko motrabaho, possible jud patay jud mi tanan sa kagutom (The kid informed me, If I do not work, we may all pass away of appetite),” she stated.
She stated some kids even motivated their more youthful brother or sisters to work since their households dealt with inflation and increasing rice costs.
This might result in more kids going into the labor force, she alerted.
“So nakaingon jud mi nga possible na mutaas, kay mao na ilahang state of mind, na pasig mga igsoon nila, apil na sila’ng trabaho (We think the number might increase due to the fact that of this state of mind, with kids believing that their brother or sisters need to likewise join them in working),” she stated.
Some kid workers likewise function as their households’ main income producers due to the fact that their moms and dads are ill or missing, Taguinod stated.
The youngest income producer helped by the program is just ten years old.
“So ang pinakabata na customer namo na income producer is naa sa 10 years old
(Our youngest customer who works as an income producer is 10 years old),” she stated.
Market porters, e-bike motorists
In Davao City, Taguinod stated a lot of the kid workers she spoke with drove tricycles or electrical bikes along highways often visited by big trucks, assisted their daddies at building and construction websites, or offered fruits and peanuts along the streets.
Others worked as porters at Bankerohan and Agdao public markets, bring veggies before dawn.
“Nya naa sa palengke pud, naga-alsa og mga gulay, specifically sa Bankerohan ug sa Agdao … unya ang kwarta nga ilang kita is baon nila sa eskwelahan pagkabuntag (Others operate at the marketplaces, bring veggies, particularly at Bankerohan and Agdao. They utilize the cash they make for their school allowance the following early morning),” she stated.
Taguinod stated some kids go back to work after school, leaving them with little time to rest.
Income help for moms and dads
The DSWD has actually assisted withdraw the 85 kids from kid labor by supplying income help to their moms and dads through its Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP). When the SLP can not accommodate a household, the firm refers it to Dole for possible support.
The income assistance matches the moms and dads’ abilities and company interests. It might consist of capital for a food service, animals, a sari-sari shop, or rice selling.
Under the Shield task’s standards, the DSWD counts a kid as withdrawn from kid labor just when the kid no longer takes part in the worst kinds of kid labor or dangerous work.
Kids aged 15 to 17 might work for no greater than 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week. They can not work in between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Kids listed below 15 might work just in a household endeavor, supplied they continue participating in school and work no greater than 4 hours a day.
The Shield task likewise supplies profiled kids with P5,000 in one-time money academic help to assist keep them in school.
“Wala mi monetary ma’am, however naa mi instructional support. Kaning academic help ma’am, is money pud amongst ginahatag, worth 5,000 pesos po Ma’am (We do not supply basic monetary support, however we provide academic support in money amounting to P5,000),” Taguinod stated.
Community-based intervention
The DSWD’s Social Technology Bureau established the Shield task and pilot-tested it from 2017 to 2019 in 15 barangays throughout Calabarzon, Bicol and Eastern Visayas before broadening it to Northern Mindanao.
The pilot program withdrew 447 kids from kid labor, according to DSWD Memorandum Circular No. 11, series of 2022, which institutionalised the job on June 30, 2022.
The DSWD explains Shield as a community-based intervention that assists eliminate kids from the worst types of kid labor, consisting of mining, deep-sea fishing, and industrial farming, through collaborated services for kids and their households.
Under the program, city governments keep a Child Labor Local Registry, a database that tracks whether profiled kids participate in school or have actually quit working. They likewise develop barangay assistance desks to link kids and their households with federal government services, consisting of education, healthcare, income help, rescue, and therapy.
Taguinod stated some moms and dads do not recognize that bringing their kids to farms or building and construction websites might expose them to kid labor. They typically think they are just teaching their kids how to work.
She stated the DSWD describes Republic Act 9231, which enhances security versus kid labor and forbids its worst kinds, and follows up with households 3 to 6 months after going over the law.
She likewise kept in mind that some kids at first recognized as kid workers were discovered to be engaged just in light kid work, highlighting the requirement for the DSWD and DOLE to align their evaluations and meanings.
In her closing remarks, Taguinod shared the story of a kid who imagined ending up being a mayor in spite of having a hard time to pay for an education.
“Lami kaayo sa paminaw nga kaning bataa ni, is dako siya og pangandoy, pero iyahang problema na-express niya sa ako, wala siyay kwarta pang-eskwela (It’s heartfelt to hear that this kid has huge dreams. The issue the kid shared with me was not having adequate cash to go to school),” she stated. GRS
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