Second Field Test of the Training Manual on Child Labour: A compilation of Laws, Policies and Programmes on the elimination of child labour in the Philippines

The three-day activity was designed to generate inputs and insights from the relevant members of the ILO-organized Project Advisory and Review Committee (PARC) and members of civil society organizations with mandate on child protection and community development in general.

To further enhance the training manual and its presentation materials, ILO invited Department of Labor and Employment – Bureau of Special Workers Concern (DOLE- BWSC) and Department of Labor and Employment Regional Office 12 based in South Cotabato to present DOLE’s program on the prevention and elimination of child labour and the corresponding relevant laws and policies. Resource persons from Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD) were also engaged to share their program on trafficking with special focus on child labor and the recent law- Republic Act 11862 and Republic Act 11188 .

Around 34 (Female -17, Male 17) participants coming from BARMM ministries such as Ministry of Labor and Employment (MOLE), Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE), Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR), Ministry of Interior and Local Government (MILG), Bangsamoro Youth Commission (BYC) Bangsamoro Human Rights Commission (BHRC) and Development Academy of the Bangsamoro (DAB). Nongovernment organizations operating in the provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur such as Mindanao Organization for Social and Economic Progress, Inc. (MOSEP), Maranao People Development Center ( MARADECA), Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA), Mindanao People’s Caucus (MPC) and Plan International also participated in the field test in the light of their of their exposure and work on child protection in the region. Representative from the office of Bangsamoro Transition Authority Parliament Member Romeo Sema also attended the training. His office is currently pushing for the passage of the Bangsamoro Labor and Employment Code being.

The good mix of participants from the government and non- government produces insights and learnings which could inform the finalization of the training manual that takes into consideration the region’s nuances e.g. culture and norms and religion. It was also an opportunity for the participants to know more about the programs and services that is available that they can offer to both the child labourers and their families to progressively withdraw children engaged in hazardous work.