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- DOLE launched nationwide measures in January 2026 to stop child labour.
- Support included awareness campaigns, family aid, and emergency jobs.
- The focus will be on reducing poverty and keeping children in school.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has begun 2026 with a strengthened nationwide campaign to eliminate child labour, conducting awareness drives, welfare support activities, and livelihood programmes throughout January.
Carried out by DOLE’s regional offices, the initiatives form part of the government’s broader effort to achieve a child-labour-free Philippines. The activities, framed around protecting children and securing their futures, focused on both children engaged in labour and those at risk.
Information campaigns in schools and communities
In the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), DOLE conducted school-based information, education, and communication (IEC) campaigns under the Child Labor Prevention and Elimination Programme (CLPEP) in Mountain Province and Ifugao.
The sessions were attended by students from Grade 8 to senior high school and covered topics such as child labour, child protection, and government programmes available to support affected families.
Parents of child labourers and children at risk also took part in a Business Counselling Programme in Bontoc, Mountain Province. Participants received training in financial literacy, bookkeeping, and information on DOLE livelihood programmes to help them build sustainable sources of income.
Livelihood assistance and welfare support
Alongside advocacy efforts, DOLE regional offices provided assistance to children and their families to help ease economic pressures.
In Laguna, DOLE-CALABARZON partnered with FIF Foundation Inc. to distribute food packs to profiled child labourers in Cabuyao City through Project Angel Tree, a key component of CLPEP. In Kiangan, Ifugao, 50 students from Nagacadan Elementary School received school kits that included uniforms, bags, and tumblers.
Under the DOLE Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Programme (DILEEP), assistance was also extended to families to help them start small businesses. In Bokod, Benguet, two families received support for projects such as a mini-bakery and ground coffee production.
In Davao City, DOLE supported 68 parents of profiled child labourers with livelihood starter kits valued at PHP 30,000 each under the Kabuhayan programme. The funded projects included small retail ventures, food processing, garment services, and other micro-enterprises.
A series of payout activities under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD) programme was also carried out in the region, with 200 parents and guardians receiving compensation after completing 10 days of community-based work.
Preventing child labour through family support
In the long term, sustained support for both children and their families will be critical to breaking the cycle of poverty that often leads to child labour. By focusing on prevention through education, stable income, and community awareness, DOLE’s approach aims to keep children in school rather than at work. If these efforts continue, they could help secure safer childhoods today and stronger opportunities in the years ahead.
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Lead image / DOLE
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