Non-government child labor watch group, Christian Advocates for Justice and Development in Negros Inc. (CAJDEN), has recorded about 3,000 child labor incidents in Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City.
CAJDEN Executive Director Ma. Lina Ganaban in an interview Monday, June 12, said their organization has profiled about 3,000 child laborers in the province from 2017 to 2020.
This profiling was conducted in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment, she said.
These child laborers work in sugar farms, wet markets, as jeepney barkers, and some even engage in illegal drugs that make them even more vulnerable to sexual abuse, she said.
She said poverty is the main enabler of child exploitation and trafficking and the government must help the parents of the laborers get jobs to provide for the needs of their families.
CAJDEN has been implementing programs involving the parents of the child laborers to raise awareness, provide educational and livelihood assistance, and teach moral values, Ganaba added.
She said they are also strengthening their program against child labor through the Kigali Declaration which advocates expanding social protection coverage to reduce poverty and promote human capital for all children.*