SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union (PIA) – Bringing the government’s social services closer to victims and children at risk of child labor, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in the Ilocos Region launched the Project Angel Tree in Bacnotan, La Union recently.
Project Angel Tree is one of the child labor prevention and elimination programs established by DOLE, which aims to provide social services that range from food, hygiene kits, and school supplies made available by benefactors, or “angels,” to child workers and their families.
The activity was staged in observance of the 2024 World Day Against Child Labor, coinciding with the 126thPhilippine Independence Day celebration, with the theme, “Bawat bata malaya: Mithiin ng nagkakaisang bansa.”
DOLE, along with the member agencies of the Regional Council Against Child Labor (RCACL) Ilocos and the local government of Bacnotan, offered a wide array of free services and various forms of assistance among 50 profiled child laborers and children at risk in town with their respective parents or guardians.
The caravan included medical and dental consultations for kids; the provision of school supplies and hygiene kits; hair grooming services; mobile registration with the Philippine Identification System; and the distribution of hot meals and other fun snacks.
Also, vaccines for human papillomavirus (HPV) were administered among female children aged nine to 14 years old to prevent HPV infection, which may cause cervical cancer.
On the other hand, financial assistance was disbursed among the parents or guardians of the identified beneficiaries.
A lecture on the difference between child work and child labor was also provided to participants.
Efipania Romero, the mother of one of the profiled child workers, thanked the government for reaching out and providing said services.
“This activity, as well as all the assistance we have received since one of my kids was profiled, is a great help to our family,” Romero stated.
Romero is a street vendor, while her husband is a person with a disability, and they are raising four children: two of them are in college, one is in senior high school, and one is in sixth grade.
Meanwhile, DOLE Ilocos Regional Director Exequiel Ronie Guzman said letting children work for the sake of teaching them values and discipline is okay, but not to the extent of ripping off their rights as children.
“Child labor is illegal, and that, for instance, is when we pull our children out of school and ask them to work instead,” Guzman said.
A similar event was also conducted in Alaminos City, Pangasinan, on Wednesday. (JCR/AMB/CGCC, PIA Region 1)
