Laws and International Conventions
The Republic of the Philippines is a signatory to a number of international conventions and agreements that binds it to the objective of promoting child welfare, and particularly that of working children. In July 1990, it ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990), the most comprehensive listing of the universally accepted standards on the human rights of children. It articulates the right of children to be protected from work that threatens their health, education or development and the State’s obligation to set minimum ages for employment and to regulate working conditions.
As a major step in fulfilling the Philippines’ commitment to eliminate the worst forms of child labor, President Gloria Arroyo signed Memorandum Order No. 71 on 2 September 2002. This directs the Labor Secretary to take immediate and effective measures to ensure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor through the Philippine Time-Bound Program and other initiatives pursuant to the spirit of ILO Convention No. 182. The President’s Memorandum Order also called for the development of a policy and legislative agenda on the elimination of the worst forms of child labor, and for budgetary appropriation to be included in the Department of Labor and Employment's annual budget.
The Philippines has a long history of ratifying Conventions and enacting legislation aimed at protecting the rights and welfare of children. The following international instruments had been ratified by the Philippine Government:
| Title of
Convention |
Notable
Features |
Date of
Ratification |
| 1. ILO Convention No. 90 (Revised 1948) |
Disallows children below
18 years of age to be employed during the night in any public
or private industrial undertaking or in any branch thereof,
except as provided for. |
29 December 1953 |
| 2. ILO Convention No. 77 (1944) |
Children under 18 years of
age shall not be admitted to employment unless they have been
found fit for the work for which they are to be employed by a thorough medical examination. |
17 November 1960 |
| 3. ILO Convention No. 138 (1973) Minimum age specified: 15 years |
Covers all economic sectors
and all employment or work, whether or not such are performed under a contract of employment. |
4 June 1998 |
| 4. ILO Convention No. 182 (1999) |
The primary instrument on
which the time-bound approach, as an implementation mechanism, is based. |
28 November 2000 |
| 5. UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (UN CRC) |
Articulates the right of
children to be protected from work that threatens their
health, education or development, and the State’s obligation
to set minimum ages for employment and to regulate working conditions. |
26 January
1990 |
|
