Publication type:

Case Studies and Success Stories

Angelo, 16, manages a kiosk selling rice and snacks outside his local barangay council’s meeting room.
Supported by the council, together with Plan International’s Child Labour programme, Angelo’s
microenterprise is flourishing. He brings home at least $4 USD per day: easily enough to support his family
and build up some savings. In the afternoon, a teacher visits Angelo and a group of young people in his
community. They are studying for vocational qualifications as part of a government-sponsored “Alternative
Learning System.” Angelo is learning book keeping and hopes to become an accountant.
Before setting up his microenterprise, Angelo had been working in deep-sea fishing with his uncle Mark.
The long night shifts from 6pm to 5am meant that Angelo was out of school. Some of the boys working on
the boats were as young as 7 or 8.
Deep-sea fishing is notoriously dangerous. Workers dive up to 15 metres to chase fish into nets. Without
protective gear, children face various dangers and injuries, including drowning, shark bites and ear
damage.
Typhoon Haiyan, locally named Typhoon Yolanda, is one of the strongest tropical storms on
record. On November 8 2013, it devastated parts of the Philippines.
“In early 2014, Plan International, the Government and other child rights agencies assessed what
was needed to protect children – to keep them in school and get those who had already left back
into education or training,” said Sindypearl Pelongo, National Child Protection in Emergencies
Specialist at Plan International Philippines.

The Child Protection Area of Responsibility and the Education Cluster’s joint assessment highlighted
child labour as an area of concern, with 39% respondents reporting an increase in ‘harsh or
dangerous labour.’ In 75% barangays (villages), respondents reported children out of school and
working.

Jeisa Muldez, a Plan International social worker, said:

CHILD LABOUR IN THE PHILIPPINES IS NOTHING NEW (…) IN THE AFTERMATH

OF YOLANDA – AS OFTEN HAPPENS IN HUMANITARIAN SETTINGS – WE SAW
SEVERAL EXISTING CHILD PROTECTION ISSUES WORSEN. CHILD LABOUR WAS
ONE SUCH ISSUE.
The Philippines is home to more than 36 million children. Over a quarter live in poverty, which Jeisa
identifies as “the root cause of child labour.” As many as 5.5 million children in the country work; 3
million in dangerous conditions. “Working children face multiple protection concerns,” says Jeisa.
“They may work long hours without breaks or overnight, use hazardous chemicals or dangerous
tools, or face abuse from employers. Many working children are deprived of an education.
Separation from families, communities and other support networks increases vulnerability to
trafficking and many kinds of violence.”

“The Worst Forms of Child Labour are quite common in the communities we work with: children
farm sugarcane and tobacco, or mine for gold. Deep sea fishing is also common, as is construction
work and quarrying for gravel,” says Jeisa. “Plan International initiated an 18-month integrated
recovery programme with Education, Livelihoods and anti-trafficking projects. The CPMS guided us
throughout the process."
 CHILD LABOUR LAWS WERE IN PLACE BEFORE HAIYAN, BUT ENFORCEMENT
WAS PATCHY ACROSS THE REGIONS. OUR EFFORTS REALLY FOCUSED ON
WORKING WITH THE GOVERNMENT TO STRENGTHEN EXISTING SYSTEMS TO
ADDRESS CHILD LABOUR, ESPECIALLY ITS WORST FORMS, AND KEEP CHILDREN
IN SCHOOL. WE CONCENTRATED ON BUILDING LOCAL AND NATIONAL CAPACITY
– FROM THE BARANGAY UP TO MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. AT THE END OF THE
18-MONTH PROJECT, OUR AIM WAS TO LEAVE ROBUST, LOCAL CAPACITY FOR
ADDRESSING AND PREVENTING CHILD LABOUR.
Jeisa said, “I lead a team of social workers responsible for identifying child labour cases.
Government intervention teams are multi-disciplinary: including at least one social worker, a health
officer and a women and children’s protection officer. At the regional level, we work closely with the
government departments of labour and employment, education, and the department for social
welfare and development. We make extensive use of the Child Protection Minimum Standards
(CPMS) (…) We consulted Standard 14 on Child Labour, of course, but I can say we regularly consult
the whole manual (…) Child protection risks are interconnected — the CPMS are useful because they
encourage practitioners to consider the whole picture, the whole response.”

“IN THE EARLY STAGES OF THE PROJECT, THE CPMS WERE USED TO STRUCTURE
ASSESSMENT, COORDINATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING EFFORTS. WE
CONSULTED ALMOST ALL STANDARDS WHEN WE DESIGNED THE 18-MONTH
RECOVERY PROGRAMME, ESPECIALLY CASE MANAGEMENT, UNACCOMPANIED
AND SEPARATED CHILDREN, CHILD FRIENDLY SPACES AND COMMUNITY-BASED
CHILD PROTECTION MECHANISMS.”
“I found the CPMS particularly useful when analyzing training needs,” adds Jeisa. “I consulted the
Standards on Case Management, Coordination and Community-based Child Protection Mechanisms
when developing local capacity building plans for our intervention teams.”

“AN EXAMPLE? REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE GLOBAL CPWG (NOW THE

ALLIANCE FOR CHILD PROTECTION IN HUMANITARIAN ACTION) JOINED A
REGIONAL MEETING ON JUVENILE JUSTICE. WE USED STANDARD 14 ON JUSTICE
FOR CHILDREN TO ADVOCATE FOR A REVISION AND REORIENTATION OF
FILIPINO JUVENILE JUSTICE POLICY – TOWARDS A MORE RESTORATIVE MODEL.”
Working children in the Philippines run a high risk of coming into contact with the law: as both
victims and offenders. Working children on the streets may engage in petty crime, and those
engaged in the worst forms of child labour are exposed to multiple forms of illicit activity. In the
typhoon-affected Visayas region of the Philippines, Plan International worked to strengthen the
referral and response mechanisms of child labourers including their access to restorative justice.
The project has significantly strengthened community-based child protection mechanisms, as well as
social workers’ capacity to monitor and manage cases: “We ran awareness raising sessions for
parents throughout the project, in collaboration with the barangay child protection councils,” says
Sindypearl. “Community members are now equipped with a basic understanding of child labour law.”
Child participation was emphasized throughout, aiming for peer-to-peer identification of working
children. “Children themselves recognize child labour, and they know who to speak to,” says Jeisa.
“Plan International staff then intervene to assess the situation. We are currently supporting the
government Department for Social Welfare and Development in managing these cases.”
The main obstacle to meeting working children’s needs in the Filipino context, according to Jeisa and
Sindypearl, remains the disparity between referrals made and su