2007 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor - Philippines

Selected Statistics and Indicators on Child Labor2830
Working children, 5-14 years (%), 2001:	11
Working boys, 5-14 years (%), 2001:	13.4
Working girls, 5-14 years (%), 2001:	8.4
Working children by sector, 5-14 years (%), 2001:
– Agriculture	65.4
– Manufacturing	4.2
– Services	29.4
– Other	1.1
Minimum age for work:	15
Compulsory education age:	11
Free public education:	Yes
Gross primary enrollment rate (%), 2005:	111
Net primary enrollment rate (%), 2005:	93
School attendance, children 5-14 years (%), 2001:	87.6
Survival rate to grade 5 (%), 2004:	75
ILO-IPEC participating country:	Yes

Incidence and Nature of Child Labor

Children work on sugarcane,²⁸³¹ tobacco,²⁸³² banana, coconut, corn flower, and rice plantations. They also engage in scavenging in garbage dumps,²⁸³³ pyrotechnics production, deep-sea fishing, mining, and quarrying.²⁸³⁴ Children living on the streets often engage in informal labor activities such as begging and scavenging.²⁸³⁵ Children, primarily girls, are engaged in domestic service.²⁸³⁶ Children are also involved in the commercial sex industry. They are engaged in prostitution, used in the production of pornography, and exploited by sex tourists.²⁸³⁷ Children living on the streets in urban centers are particularly vulnerable to prostitution and pornography.²⁸³⁸ Children are also involved in the production and trafficking of drugs within the country.²⁸³⁹

Reportedly children are trafficked internally from rural areas to major cities, as well as abroad to work in factories, in prostitution, drug trafficking, domestic service, and other activities in the informal sector.²⁸⁴⁰ There are no reports of child soldiers in the Government's Armed Forces, but children under 18 years are recruited into terrorist organizations, including the Abu Sayyaf Group and the New People's Army.²⁸⁴¹

Child Labor Laws and Enforcement

The law prohibits the employment of children under 15 years except when working directly with a parent, when working in public entertainment is "essential", and when the work does not endanger the child's life, safety, health or morals or does not interfere with schooling. The law requires that any child under 15 years employed under these guidelines receive a special permit from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), but it does not define any absolute minimum age for these children to begin work.²⁸⁴² A child is permitted to work as an apprentice at age 14.²⁸⁴³ The law sets limits on children's working hours; it prohibits night work for children under 15 years from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., and forbids children 15 to 18 years from working after 10 p.m.²⁸⁴⁴ Penalties for violations include fines and prison terms up to 20 years. The law also requires formal administration of working children's income, initiates trust funds for working children, and guarantees their access to education and training.²⁸⁴⁵

Philippine law defines the worst forms of child labor as all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery; use, procurement, offering, or exposing a child for prostitution, pornography, or pornographic performances; use, procuring or offering a child for illegal or illicit activities; and work that is hazardous or likely to be harmful to the safety, health, or morals of children, including 9 hazardous categories. Criteria for categorizing work as hazardous includes work that degrades the worth and dignity of a child; exposes the child to physical danger; is performed underground; is performed under difficult conditions; and that involves handling of explosives or pyrotechnics; among others.²⁸⁴⁶ There are various Philippine laws that further describe, prohibit and provide penalties for the identified worst forms of child labor. The law specifically prohibits the handling of dangerous machinery or heavy loads; exposure to extremes of cold, heat, noise, or pressure; and exposure to physical, psychological, or sexual abuse.²⁸⁴⁷ The law criminalizes trafficking of children for exploitation, including trafficking for sex tourism, prostitution, pornography, and the recruitment of children into armed conflict. The law establishes the penalty of life imprisonment for trafficking violations involving children and provides for the confiscation of any proceeds derived from trafficking crimes.²⁸⁴⁸ Government employees face additional penalties for breaking the law, which also mandates immediate deportation of foreign offenders following the completion of their prison sentence.²⁸⁴⁹ The law prohibits the involvement of minors in the manufacture, delivery, or purchase of dangerous drugs.²⁸⁵⁰ Slavery and forced labor are prohibited.²⁸⁵¹ The law prohibits child prostitution, including engaging in, profiting from, or soliciting prostitution from children.²⁸⁵² The law also prohibits the use of children in the production of pornographic materials.²⁸⁵³ The minimum age for voluntary recruitment into military service is 18 years or 17 years for training purposes.²⁸⁵⁴

DOLE is responsible for enforcing child labor laws through the labor standards enforcement offices.²⁸⁵⁵ However, USDOS reports that child labor enforcement is weak because of a lack of awareness, lack of resources, and an inadequate judicial infrastructure.²⁸⁵⁶ The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Bureau of Immigration, and the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group are tasked with counter-trafficking activities,²⁸⁵⁷ and are members of the national Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking headed by the Department of Justice.²⁸⁵⁸ In addition, local, regional and provincial Inter-Agency Councils Against Trafficking addresses child labor and human trafficking issues throughout the country.²⁸⁵⁹

Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor

The Philippine National Strategic Framework for Plan Development for Children, 2000-2025, also known as "Child 21," and the National Program Against Child Labor (NPACL) framework continue to serve as the primary Government policy instruments for the development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of programs designed to prevent and eliminate child labor in the Philippines.²⁸⁶⁰ In the summer of 2007, the first phase of the NPACL underwent a performance assessment on the outcomes and impacts of the program in preparation for a second phase. As a result, in August 2007, the NPACL was renamed the Philippine Program Against Child Labor (PPACL) Strategic Framework 2007-2015, and new strategic goals were developed.²⁸⁶¹ The National Plan of Action for Decent Work 2005-2007 prioritized the elimination of the worst forms of child labor.²⁸⁶² The Medium Term Philippine Development Plan 2004-2010 also includes measures for reducing the incidence of child labor, especially in hazardous occupations. In the plan, the Philippine Government pledges to strengthen mechanisms to monitor the implementation of child protection laws; develop "social technologies" to respond to child trafficking and pornography; and implement an enhanced program for children in armed conflict.²⁸⁶³ In addition, several local government units have incorporated child labor into their development plans.²⁸⁶⁴

Several governmental agencies in the Philippines have ongoing programs to address the needs of children vulnerable to exploitive labor.²⁸⁶⁵ DOLE continues to implement the Rescue the Child Workers Program to monitor suspected cases of child labor and intervene on behalf of children in confirmed cases.²⁸⁶⁶ From January to December 2007, DOLE rescued 144 minors in 57 different operations from exploitive labor.²⁸⁶⁷ DOLE continues to regularly carry out child labor training for its approximately 200 labor inspectors.²⁸⁶⁸ In addition, DOLE has a number of social welfare programs targeting working children, including the Working Youth Center and the Bureau of Women and Young Workers' Family Welfare Program.²⁸⁶⁹ DOLE also implements the Project Angel Tree, which grants wishes to child laborers such as providing food, clothing, and education assistance.²⁸⁷⁰ The Cebu Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with the Employers Confederation of the Philippines and ILO, maintains an awards program for Child Labor-Free and Child-Friendly Firms. A staff person from DOLE sits on the screening committee for administering the awards ²⁸⁷¹ In recognition of the World Day Against Child Labor on June 12, the Government participated in a series of week-long child labor awareness raising activities.²⁸⁷² The Philippine's National Statistics Office gathers information on child labor by including children 5 years and above in its quarterly Labor Force Survey when measuring the economically active population in the Philippines.²⁸⁷³

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is the lead Government agency that provides support, primarily through 42 temporary shelters, for victims of trafficking,²⁸⁷⁴ children in armed conflict, and children who have been exploited, abused, or rescued from living on the streets.²⁸⁷⁵ From January to September 2007, DSWD provided social services and temporary shelter to 217 juvenile trafficking victims.²⁸⁷⁶ In 2007, the Interagency Council Against Trafficking established an anti-trafficking task force at Manila's airport.²⁸⁷⁷ The Philippines is one of several countries in South East Asia participating in a campaign by MTV Europe to raise awareness on human trafficking.²⁸⁷⁸

The Government of the Philippines, through DOLE, is participating in a Timebound Program to implement the NPACL and PPACL. Phase I of the program targeted children involved in commercial sexual exploitation, mining and quarrying, pyrotechnics, deep-sea fishing, domestic service, and work on commercial sugar cane farms. ILO-IPEC and World Vision (in partnership with Plan, Christian Children's Fund, and Educational Research and Development Assistance Foundation) implemented USDOL-funded projects to support efforts to eliminate child labor in the specified worst forms.²⁸⁷⁹ The USD 5.2 million ILO-IPEC portion of the program ended in August 2007, withdrawing a total of 19,125 children, and preventing a total of 11,963 more from exploitive work.²⁸⁸⁰ The World Vision project was implemented during the reporting period.²⁸⁸¹ USDOL also funded two additional projects in support of the Timebound Program; a USD 7 million ILO-IPEC project that withdrew 4,335 and prevented 4,560 children from becoming involved in armed conflict in seven countries, including the Philippines,²⁸⁸² as well as an additional inter-regional project allocating USD 500,000 in the Philippines to substantially reduce the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labor. Both projects ended in 2007.²⁸⁸³

In September 2007, USDOL awarded an additional USD 5.5 million to World Vision to support the Government's efforts under Phase II of the Timebound Program and the PPACL. The project targets 18,063 children for withdrawal and 11,937 children for prevention from work in the following sectors: sugarcane plantations, other commercial agriculture, child domestic work, commercial sexual exploitation, mining/quarrying, garbage scavenging, and pyrotechnics.²⁸⁸⁴

Additional government projects contributing to the goals of the Timebound Program include a 2year USD 469,000 project, in collaboration with the Eliminating Child Labor in the Tobacco Industry Foundation, to combat child labor in tobacco production in Region I (Ilocos Region).²⁸⁸⁵ UNICEF also works actively with the Government to promote children's rights, protect children from trafficking, and support educational improvements.²⁸⁸⁶ The UN Trust Fund for Human Security is implementing a USD 1.9 million program in the Philippines and Thailand to empower returned child trafficking victims economically and socially.²⁸⁸⁷ USDOS and USAID provide support to a number of anti-trafficking projects in the Philippines, including a shelter that collaborates with local police and social workers to provide emergency shelter and counseling to exploited children and child trafficking victims, as well as an awareness-raising program to combat child trafficking.²⁸⁸⁸

The Philippines Education for All National Plan of Action includes child laborers as beneficiaries of education services.²⁸⁸⁹ The Department of Education (DepEd) is implementing functional education and literacy programs that provide working children with basic education and skills training.²⁸⁹⁰ DepEd's Bureau of Alternative Learning System²⁸⁹¹ is tasked with promoting, improving, and monitoring alternative learning interventions for out-of-school youth and groups with special educational needs,²⁸⁹² and has developed learning modules for parents of working children in areas with a high incidence of child labor.²⁸⁹³ DepEd Bulletin No.4 Series 2003 instructs education officials at the national, regional, and local levels to intervene to reduce or eliminate child labor.²⁸⁹⁴ Additionally, DepEd Order No. 31 S. 2006 provides policy guidance for reporting children involved in armed conflict in order to ensure that they receive any necessary assistance.²⁸⁹⁵

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2830 For statistical data not cited here, see the Data Sources and Definitions section. For data on ratifications and ILO-IPEC membership, see the Executive Summary. For minimum age for admission to work, age to which education is compulsory, and free public education, see Government of the Philippines, Labour Code (1993), article 139; available from http://natlex.ilo.org/txt/E98PHL01.htm. See also Government of the Philippines, An Act Prohibiting the Employment of Children Below 15 Years of Age in Public and Private Undertakings Republic Act No. 7658 (November 9, 1993); available from http://www.pctc.gov.ph/initiatv/RA7658.htm. See also Government of the Philippines, An Act Providing for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor and Affording Stronger Protection for the Working Child, Republic Act No. 9231, (December 19, 2003). See also Government of the Philippines, Constitution, (1987), XIV Section 2(2). See also U.S. Embassy – Manila, reporting, December 6, 2007.

2831 Terre des Hommes, Sweet Hazards: Child Labor on Sugarcane Plantations in the Philippines, Netherlands, June 2005, 8. See also ILO-IPEC, Safety and Health Fact Sheet: Hazardous Child Labour in Agriculture-Sugarcane, Geneva, March 2004.

2832 Partners International Incorporated, Rapid Appraisal of Child Labor in the Tobacco Industry: Case Studies in Two Ilocos Provinces, 2002, 16. See also ECLT Foundation, Eliminating Child Labour in the Tobacco Industry Project, Phase 2, [online] May 29, 2007 [cited December 3, 2007]; available from http://www.eclt.org/filestore/DOLE2Programme.pdf.

2833 U.S. Embassy – Manila, reporting, December 6, 2007, 23. See also National Child Labor Committee official, Meeting with USDOL official, May 21, 2007, 3. See also Charita Castro, Child Sakadas in Philippine Agriculture: Researching Injury Hazards for Working Children in the Context of International Labor Standards and United States Foreign Policy, May 20, 2007, 81.

2834 U.S. Embassy – Manila, reporting, December 6, 2007. See also Godelia E.S. Ricalde, Nonita Adan-Perez, and Mark Anthony P. Nucum, Annotated Bibliography of Child Labor Studies in the Philippines, 2002. See also ILOIPEC, Supporting the TimeBound Program on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor in the Republic of the Philippines, Project Document, Geneva, September 25, 2002, 5.

2835 U.S. Department of State, "Philippines," in Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2007, Washington, DC, March 11, 2008, section 5; available from http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/100535.htm. See also Castro, Child Sakadas in Philippine Agriculture, 81. See also Consortium for Street Children, A Civil Society Forum for East and South East Asia on Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Street Children, Bangkok, March 12-14, 2003, 18-20; available from http://www.streetchildren.org.uk/reports/southeastasia.pdf.

2836 Visayan Forum Foundation Inc., Trafficked into Forced Labor: Selected Case Studies of Domestic Workers in the Philippines, Manila, 2006, Introductory notes. See also Ayaka Matsuno and Jonathan Blagbrough, Child Domestic Labour in South-East and East Asia: Emerging Good Practices to Combat It, Bangkok, 2006, xv. See also Ricalde, An Annotated Bibliography of Child Labor Studies in the Philippines. See also U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2007: Philippines," section 6c.

2837 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2007: Philippines," section 5. See also ECPAT International CSEC Database, Philippines, accessed November 21, 2007; available from http://www.ecpat.net/eng/Ecpat_inter/projects/monitoring/online_databas…. See also Arnie Trinidad, Child Pornography in the Philippines, Manila, 2005. See also ECPAT International, Global Monitoring Report on the Status of Action Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: Philippines, Bangkok, 2006, 11-12.

2838 Castro, Child Sakadas in Philippine Agriculture, 79.

2839 Emma Porio and Christine Crisol, The Use of Children in the Production, Sales and Trafficking of Drugs, Manila, 2004, 1, 2. See also Magdalena Lepiten, Children's Involvement in the Production, Sale and Trafficking of Drugs in Cebu City: A Rapid Assessment, ILO-IPEC, Geneva, February 2002.

2840 U.S. Department of State, "Philippines (Tier 2)," in Trafficking in Persons Report-2007, Washington, DC, June 12, 2007; available from http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2007/82804.htm. See also U.S. Embassy – Manila, reporting, December 6, 2007. See also U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2007: Philippines," section 5, 6c. See also Visayan Forum Foundation Inc., Trafficked into Forced Labor. See also UNICEF, Factsheet: Child Trafficking in the Philippines, [online] [cited December 10, 2007]; available from http://www.unicef.org/protection/files/ipulocaltrafficking.pdf#search=%…. See also ECPAT International, Global Monitoring Report on the Status of Action Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: Philippines, 12.

2841 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2007: Philippines," section 1g. See also Rufa Cagoco-Guiam, Child Soldiers in Central and Western Mindanao: A Rapid Assessment, ILO-IPEC, Geneva, February 2002, xiv.

2842 Government of the Philippines, Labour Code, article 139. See also Government of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 7658, section 12. See also Government of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 9231, section 2.

2843 Government of the Philippines, Labour Code, article 59.

2844 Government of the Philippines, Policy Instruction No. 23, (May 30, 1977), section 1 a, b. See also Government of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 9231, section 3.

2845 Government of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 9231, sections 2-4, 6. See also U.S. Embassy – Manila, reporting, February 27, 2004.

2846 Government of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 9231, section 3.

2847 Department of Labor and Employment, Hazardous Work and Activities to Persons Below 18 Years of Age, Department Order No. 4, (1999), section 3. See also Ayaka Matsuno and Jonathan Blagbrough, Child Domestic Labour in South-East and East Asia: Emerging Good Practices to Combat It, Bangkok, 2006, 36.

2848 Government of the Philippines, Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, Republic Act 9208, (2003), sections 6, 10, 14.

2849 Ibid., section 5, 6, 10. See also U.S. Embassy – Manila, reporting, March 1, 2005.

2850 Government of the Philippines, Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, Republic Act No. 9165, (2002), article II, section 5, 6.

2851 Government of the Philippines, Revised Penal Code, No. 3815, (December 8, 1930), article 272-274.

2852 Government of the Philippines, Special Protection of Children against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act, Republic Act No. 7610 (1992). See also Government of the Philippines, Revised Penal Code, articles 202, 340-341.

2853 Government of the Philippines, Special Protection of Children Act, article V. See also Government of the Philippines, Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, Section 4.

2854 Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, "Philippines," in Child Soldiers Global Report 2004, London, 2004; available from http://www.child-soldiers.org/document_get.php?id=875.

2855 Government of the Philippines, Philippine Government's Efforts to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor, submitted in response to U.S. Department of Labor Federal Register Notice (November 8, 2007) "Request for Information on Efforts by Certain Countries to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor", December 5, 2007. See also U.S. Embassy – Manila, reporting, August 29, 2003. See also U.S. Embassy – Manila, reporting, December 6, 2007.

2856 U.S. Embassy – Manila, reporting, December 6, 2007.

2857 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2007: Philippines," section 5.

2858 U.S. Embassy – Manila official, email communication to USDOL official, August 14, 2006. See also Government of the Philippines, Philippine Government's Efforts to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor.

2859 The Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs, DFA RCO Iloilo, and NGOs Work to Activate Regional Inter-agency Council Against Trafficking, Press Release, August 31, 2006. See also U.S. Embassy – Manila official, E-mail communication to USDOL official, July 24, 2008.

2860 Council for the Welfare of Children, Philippine National Strategic Framework for Plan Development for Children, 2000-2025, Makati City, Philippines, 2000. See also Department of Labor and Employment, National Program Against Child Labor Framework 2000-2004. See also ILO – IPEC, Supporting the Timebound Program on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor in the Republic of the Philippines, technical progress report, September 2005, 30-31. See also World Vision, Combating Child Labor through Education in the Philippines: The ABK Initiative, Technical Progress Report, March 2006. See also Government of the Philippines, Philippine Government's Efforts to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor.

2861 ILO-IPEC, Supporting the Timebound Program on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor in the Republic of the Philippines, Final Technical Progress Report, Geneva, September 2007, 5-6. See also U.S. Embassy – Manila, reporting, December 6, 2007, 16.

2862 Department of Labor and Employment, Employers, Labor Agree to Promote Decent Work, [online] May 13, 2005 [cited March 19, 2008]; available from http://www.gov.ph/news/default.asp?i=9290. See also ILO-IPEC, Supporting the Timebound Program on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor in the Republic of the Philippines, Status Report, Geneva, June 2005, 3.

2863 Republic of the Philippines, Medium Term Philippine Development Plan 2004-2010, 2004, 113, 168-169.

2864 World Vision, Combating Child Labor through Education in the Philippines: The ABK Initiative, Technical Progress Report, Manila, August 15, 2007, 22-23.

2865 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2007: Philippines," section 6d. See also Government of the Philippines, Philippine Government's Efforts to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor.

2866 U.S. Embassy – Manila, reporting, December 6, 2007, 12. See also Government of the Philippines, Philippine Government's Efforts to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor.

2867 U.S. Embassy official, E-mail communication to USDOL official, July 24, 2008.

2868 U.S. Embassy – Manila, reporting, December 6, 2007, 14.

2869 U.S. Embassy – Manila, reporting August 29, 2003. See also Bureau of Women and Young Workers, Bureau of Women and Young Workers Homepage, [online] [cited March 19, 2008]; available from http://www.chanrobles.com/legal3bwyw.html.

2870 Government of the Philippines, Philippine Government's Efforts to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor.

2871 Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc., Search for CCCI's Child Friendly Firm is On, Press Release, October 8, 2006; available from http://www.cebubusinesswebportal.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=….

2872 ILO-IPEC, World Day Against Child Labour Harvest for the Future: Agriculture without Child Labour Country Activities: Philippines, June 12, 2007.

2873 U.S. Embassy – Manila, reporting, December 6, 2007, 22. See also ILO – IPEC, Supporting the Timebound Program on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor in the Republic of the Philippines, Technical Progress Report, March 2004, 7. See also National Statistics Office, NSO and ILO-IPEC Set to Present Final Results of the Latest Survey on Children, Press Release, October 10, 2002; available from http://www.census.gov.ph/data/pressrelease/2002/pr02177tx.html.

2874 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2007: Philippines," section 5. See also U.S. Department of State, "Philippines (Tier 2)," in Trafficking in Persons Report – 2007, Washington, DC, June 12, 2006; available from http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2007/82804.htm.

2875 U.S. Embassy – Manila, reporting August 29, 2003. See also Department of Social Welfare and Development, Retained Programs/Services for Children [online] [cited March 19, 2008]; available from http://www.dswd.gov.ph/ProgProj.php?id=32.

2876 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2007: Philippines," section 5.

2877 U.S. Department of State, "Trafficking in Persons Report 2007: Philippines."

2878 U.S Embassy Manila, reporting, June 27, 2007.

2879 ILO-IPEC, Supporting the Time-Bound Program, Project Document. See also World Vision, Combating Child Labor through Education in the Philippines: The ABK Initiative, Project Document, Washington, 2003. See also Government of the Philippines, Memorandum Order No. 71, September 2, 2002.

2880 ILO-IPEC, Time-Bound Program to Combat Child Labor, Final Technical Progress Report September 2007, 61.

2881 U. S. Department of Labor, Combating Child Labor through Education in the Philippines: The ABK Initiative, ILAB Technical Cooperation Project Summary, 2007.

2882 ILO-IPEC, Prevention and Reintegration of Children Involved in Armed Conflict: An Inter-Regional Program, Project Document, Geneva, September 2003. See also U.S. Department of Labor, Prevention and Reintegration of Children Involved in Armed Conflict: An Inter-Regional Program, ILAB Technical Cooperation Project Summary, Washington, D.C., 2007. See also USDOL official, E-mail communication USDOL official, March 14 2008.

2883 Winrock International, Reducing Child Labor through Education, [online] [cited June 11, 2008]. See also U.S. Embassy – Manila, U.S. Government Projects in the Philippines: Human Rights, Democracy and Labor, [online] February 13, 2007 [cited April 1, 2008]; available from http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwfps24.pdf.

2884 U.S. Department of Labor, Combating Child Labor through Education in the Philippines: The ABK Initiative Phase II ILAB Technical Cooperation Project Summary, 2007.

2885 ECLT Foundation, Eliminating Child Labour in the Tobacco Industry Project, Phase 2. See also U.S. Embassy – Manila, reporting, December 6, 2007, 19.

2886 UNICEF, Philippines: Child Protection [online] [cited November 21, 2007]; available from http://www.unicef.org/philippines/activities/act_4.html. See also UNICEF, Revised Country Programme Document: Philippines, November 1, 2004. See also UNICEF Philippines, UNICEF Inks Agreement with Philippine Government to Reduce Disparities in the Well-Being of Children, [online] May 4, 2005 [cited June 11, 2008]; available from http://www.unicef.org/philippines/archives/news/050503.html.

2887 ILO-IPEC official, E-mail communication USDOL official, December 12, 2007.

2888 U.S. Embassy – Manila, reporting, December 14, 2006. See also U. S. Embassy official, E-mail communication to USDOL official, November 27, 2007.

2889 Government of the Philippines, National Action Plan to Achieve Education for All by Year 2015, 2005, 51; available from http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/efa/EFA_Plans/Phil_EFA20…. See also ILO-IPEC, Supporting the Timebound Program on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor in the Republic of the Philippines, Technical Progress Report, March 2006, 2.

2890 Government of the Philippines, National Action Plan to Achieve Education for All by Year 2015, 51.

2891 Government of the Philippines, Renaming the Bureau of Nonformal Education to Bureau of Alternative Learning System, Executive Order No. 356, (September 13, 2004). See also U.S. Embassy – Manila, reporting, December 6, 2007.

2892 Government of the Philippines, National Action Plan to Achieve Education for All by Year 2015, 26. See also U.S. Embassy – Manila, reporting August 29, 2003.

2893 U.S. Embassy – Manila, reporting, December 6, 2007, 21.

2894 Department of Education, DepED Bulletin No. 4 S. 2003, Philippines Timebound Program (PTBP) for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor (WFCL), 2003.

2895 Department of Education, DepEd Order No. 31 S. 2006, Implementation of Policy Instruments in Reporting Cases of Children Involved in Armed Conflict, July 28, 2006.