BACOLOD CITY — About 2,500 people joined the “Walk for a Cause for Child Laborers in Negros Occidental”, a Labor Day event spearheaded by the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) office here on Tuesday morning.
“We are happy for the successful activity aimed at raising awareness that each one of us has the responsibility to stop child labor,” said Mary Agnes Capigon, head of DOLE’s office in Negros Occidental, in an interview after the program, which was held at the Bacolod City Government Center grounds.
The walk, which started at the Provincial Capitol Lagoon at about 6 a.m., was participated in by employees of various government agencies, police personnel, students, and representatives of the partner groups.
Capigon said that during the program, they launched the “Project Angel Tree” to recognize sponsors who helped provide education to child laborers.
The PHP50 walk registration fee will be used to buy school supplies for 100 child laborers, to be distributed during the World Day Against Child Labor on June 12.
However, with the higher turnout of walk participants, up to 300 recipients could be reached, she added.
As part of the event, DOLE-Negros Occidental and its partner non-government organizations signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the profiling and consolidation of child labor data in the province.
Capigon signed for DOLE 6 (Western Visayas) while other signatories were Neneng Mirasol, on behalf of Fr. Christopher Entrata, board chair of the Christian Advocates for Justice and Development-Negros Inc. (CAJDEN), and Imelda Villacin, executive director of Quidan Kaisahan.
The partnership was initiated by DOLE, which leads the network of mutually enabling social partners under the Philippine Program Against Child Labor (PPACL) and as chair of the National Child Labor Committee through its banner program the Child Labor Prevention and Elimination Program (CLPEP) in working towards the prevention and progressive elimination of child labor through protection, withdrawal, healing and reintegration of child workers into a caring society.
Under the agreement, the labor department will be responsible for consolidating data from its social partners on the progress towards achieving the Philippine Development Plan Target, which shall be submitted annually to the National Economic and Development Authority.
For their part, CAJDEN and Quidan Kaisahan formally agreed to be DOLE’s social partners in the profiling and consolidation of CLPEP data to effectively monitor the progress of child labor in Negros Occidental and Western Visayas.
The MOA signing was followed by the turnover of PHP1.914 million worth of livelihood projects to 207 beneficiaries, including 72 parents of child laborers, under the CAJDEN, an accredited co-partner of the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program.
The projects included rice trading, basic commodities store, fish cage, and bakery. (Nanette Guadalquiver/PNA)
