President Rodrigo Duterte has directed government agencies to intensify efforts in eliminating child labor as he sought for stiffer penalties for those found guilty of child trafficking.
Duterte signed Executive Order 92 on Sept. 17 which created the National Council Against Child Labor that is mandated to oversee the implementation of the country’s program against child labor.
Led by the Labor secretary, the council is also tasked to formulate a national action plan for the effective enforcement of Republic Act 7610 or the “Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.”
President Duterte also wants crimes linked to child trafficking to be elevated to non-bailable offenses, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said in a statement Friday.
“The President wants to increase and tighten the penalties to offenses related to child trafficking. He wants these classes of crimes to be elevated to non-bailable offenses,” Nograles said.
Nograles said the Duterte administration seeks amendments to Republic Act 10364 or the “Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act” to make individuals and groups involved in the child trafficking “fully answerable” for their offenses.
Under the present law, violators face 15 years of jail time and P500,000 to P1-million fines.
“Aside from the deterrent effect of these higher penalties, we need to get the message across that government is dead serious in addressing the human trafficking issue, particularly with respect to children and vulnerable groups,” Nograles said.
Meanwhile, the EO on child labor from the Office of the President directs the council to submit semi-annual reports to the Executive Secretary on its operations and accomplishments regarding its prevention and elimination.
“There is an urgent need to amplify government efforts for the protection of the rights of vulnerable sectors, especially the children, strengthen related institutional mechanisms and establish further measures that will contribute to the prevention, reduction and elimination of any form of child labor,” the order read.
Under the EO, the council must also establish a mechanism so the general public can easily report child labor cases to government authorities.
Council members include the secretaries of education, health, interior and local government, justice, agriculture, environment and natural resources, and National Commission on Muslim Filipinos.
According to the Department of Labor and Employment, the Duterte administration aims to reduce the cases of child labor by 30 percent or 630,000 from the estimated 2.1 million child laborers nationwide under the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022.
Last July, the DOLE said it had already profiled 85,582 child laborers in 16 regions of which 18,651 were referred to appropriate agencies for the provision of services and assistance needed by the children and their families.
Meanwhile, the President likewise ordered all government agencies and local government units to support this year’s national crime prevention program.
Signed on Sept. 23, Memorandum Circular 66 directs all government offices, departments, bureaus, agencies, and offices, as well as LGUs, to support the program which outlines strategies for ensuring public order and safety.
The copy of the memorandum was given to Palace reporters Friday.
“The funding requirements for the implementation of this circular shall be charged against the existing appropriations of the respective agencies and LGUs,” the memorandum read.
Developed by the National Police Commission, the crime prevention program was pursuant to the “Department of the Interior and Local Government Act of 1990” as amended by the “ Philippine National Police Reform and Reorganization Act of 1998.”
