(Region III Field Office) Anong headquarters ng nso yung nagbigay ng data, , ano ba ang tamang proseso SA PAG-ISSUE

NG PERMIT-STEP BY STEP?, Mayor, employees, effects of labor to childs psychology, culture of labor in the Philippines, what can be done to eradicate child labor, interview parents, children, psychologist and sociologist, pano yung pag-aaral ng mga bata? Di pa nakakaistorbo yun? Anong klaseng permit ang iniissue. Ask mayor or dole head about employees na nag-iissue ng permits. No time for play: Children fuels Pampangas sugarcane industry First of two parts As the sugarcane industry in Pampanga prospers, so does the incidence of child labor. Landowners, in order to reduce production costs, hire workers, 17 years old and below, for cheaper labor. These children, who only want to earn money for their families endure the tough working condition in the field. Like in most parts of the country, Pampanga heavily relies on agriculture. It continues to foresee a thriving economy mainly because of its sugarcane industry. And so, more and more Kapampangans, children and adults alike, seek jobs in this sector. Nestor Alvarez, owner of a sugarcane plantation in Baliti, Pampanga, has hired at least 135 contractual child laborers, ages 9 to 17 years old. This practice had begun when he acquired the 20 hectare plantation in the 1980s. In 2010 Alvarez bought another 15 hectares of land to expand his sugarcane plantation. The International Labor Organization defines child labor as "work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development." The town of Baliti, according to Raymundo Agravante, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region III Director, posted one of the highest incidences of child labor in sugarcane industries in Pampanga. The high incidence of child labor in Pampanga, aside from the need for money, is also because our town is rich in sugarcane products. And we all know that the major source of income of Kapampangans (Pampanga natives) is from farming this type of crop, said Agravante. The children nakikipagsabayan. (take turns) with the other 25 adults working in the field. Alvarez said hiring children costs him P125 less compared to the salary of the grownups. Adult farm workers earn P300 per day while the children make P175 per day depending on hours spent. Henry Viray, owner of 50 hectares of sugarcane land in Pandacaqui, Mexico,

Pampanga, has a different take on this illegal practice. He believes that they [landowners] should not be made liable for employing the young since they willingly accept the job despite the harsh working conditions in the field. Its a form of charity This is not forced labor. We dont coerce them to work in our field. They can find other simpler jobs but they choose to work for us, says Viray. When asked to present his permit, the 60-year-old landowner says, wala dito, baka kasi mawala eh, (I did not bring it. It might get lost). Working Permits for Sale Despite knowledge on the legal prohibitions of child labor, Viray continues to hire child workers. He also admitted that not all of his child workers have permits from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). DOLE did not issue permits for most of the children because they were too young. But I was able to get some help from the city hall. Of course, it comes with a price, he said. An anonymous source from DOLE said issuing working permits for children confirms it is prohibited. Wala talagang makakakuha ng permit nun kasi nga delikado sa mga bata. Isa pa, kung titignan mo yung requirements lahat nun linalabag nung mga may-ari ng tubuhan, (Working permits in such cases can never be issued since it endangers the children. And if you look at the requirements, all are violated by the sugarcane land owners).

The source said that some are able to circle around the legalities of child employment by changing the childrens age to 25 years old or older. Others portray the working area as convenient and safe for child workers to convince licensors to issue permits. These falsified documents, according to the anonymous source, are processed by a certain department in the mayors office. An employee will then forge the signature of the mayor for authorization. The source also admitted that she often moonlights as a licensor especially when a family member seeks her help. The permits issued illegally can cost 3,000 to 5,000 depending to the agreement. .The anonymous DOLE employee said they do pocket money to rush the processing of

permits. Once in a while, employees from DOLE inspect the fields. Domingo Ferrer, owner of sugarcane field in Apalit, Pampanga reported that, in March 2011 when two representatives from DOLE visited their field, they saw the children working and Ferrer was advice to bring the minors to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Ferrer refused and said they cant do that without consulting the childrens parents. Ferrer was surprised that the officers did not give any sanctions. sinabi damu na dapat enaku kumang anak at dapat eku kunsintiyan in makanta jang malulunus ku ( they said that I should not hire minors. And I should not tolerate it, despite my pity for them.) Republic Act 9231 or An Act Providing for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor prohibits employment of children below 15 years old except under certain cases. Penalties for violating Philippine child labor laws range from fines of 1,000 to 10,000 pesos, imprisonment from three months to three years, or both. Businesses found to be in repeated violation of these laws may have their operating licenses revoked. The DOLE employees insisted to bring the children to the DSWD headquarters unless he gives them a sum of P5,000. Ferrer said he agreed just so they could leave. Just when he thought he got away from trouble, a second encounter came. Ferrer narrated that when he went to DOLEs office to get working permits for the children, he encountered two of the employees that had visited his sugarcane plantation. They told him Ferrer cannot get permits because the children are not allowed to work in hazardous environment under the law. When he was about to leave, a guy ran after him and offered to process the permits in exchange of a sum of money. The man told him to return after the permits have been processed. Ferrer said he knew that it was illegal but he had no choice. He knew the children alone cant get the permits. He said he had to do that for his business and for the poor children as well. Dito kasi sa probinsya kapit sa patalim ang mga tao. Kumakalam na sikmura mo iisipin mo pa ba kung anong pwedeng trabaho? (Here in the province, people cling to the knifes edge. Will you still think doing other jobs when youre stomaches churning?), said Ferrer. Alvarez, a former soldier, has a similar practice. The 64-year-old land owner uses his wifes contacts and friends from DOLE to process and get working permits for their child laborers anytime they want. This helps him skirt away from any liabilities he may face in the future.

Agravante, one of DOLEs Child Labor-Free campaign lobbyist, said that the illegal issuance of permits is unavoidable. We do receive reports about this illegal practice. We (DOLE) are planning to conduct surprise visits to offices to observe how they operate. I also requested my department to scrutinize the process and the documents issued to see whether they violated the law, he said. If found guilty, Agravante said the offenders may be fired or suspended. To prevent liabilities, landowners must undergo the legal process. They should stop hiring child workers. No time for play: Children fuels Pampangas sugarcane industry Last of two parts Sweet Hazards: Sugarcane labor takes its toll With a thriving sugarcane industry, Kapampangans continue the practice of child employment which under the law is prohibited under certain conditions. One of these conditions, based on Republic Act 9231, is a hazardous working environment. ILO describes working in the field as a mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children. As such, working in a sugarcane plantation posits danger and harm for children and adults alike. Young sugarcane workers have to endure such unsafe working conditions and long working hours. They also have to miss weeks or even months of school during the sugarcane harvest. But John Romer, 17 years old, says it is a small risk he has to take. King sakit na ning biye buri kulang sopan ding pengari ku (I endure the pain of labor just to help my parents save money), he said. For a sum of P300, he works eleven hours a day in a 100 hectare privately-owned sugarcane plantation in Pampanga. During harvest time, at least 700 children from and outside Pampanga are transported by a truck to Virays plantation to yield and cut sugarcanes, said 52-year-old Rommel Gomez, a former caretaker of Virays plantation.

Sugarcanes harvested in the fields in Pampanga are processed into refined sugars, exported to other countries and being distributed in markets, restaurants and on kitchen tables. Harvest may mean payday but it poses danger for many. Madalas nasusugatan nila yung kamay nila. Noong nakaraang taon.. hindi napansin nung isang bata na natapyas niya yung dito (pointing to the thighs) nung kasama niya. Ay naku! Buti kamo hindi ganun kalalim, (Most children easily wound their hands while cutting sugarcanesLast year, one kid accidentally hit another with the bolo. Fortunately, the wound was not that deep), said Junjun, Rommels son, now the caretaker of the plantation. He added that some children also experience itchiness due to the weedy environment and often fracture their hands, shoulders and cut their fingers. When asked what they do when someone gets hurt, Junjun simply said he does not know. No medical aid has come from the owner. They are on their own. But Alvarez, owner of a sugarcane plantation in Apalit, Pampanga, claims that he guarantees the security, health, wellbeing, values and normal maturity of the children. The workers are given tasks that are fit for their young body. He added that children are divided into 20 teams supervised by kapatas to ensure their safety. The sugarcane cutters often rise at 3:00 a.m. They have to be at the gates of the land owners property at exactly 4:00 am for the harvest. Once at work, the rhythm is infernal. They have to yield a certain number of canes enough to get a sufficient sum of money. During cutting season, the number of sugarcanes they reap determines their pay. The cutting season, which lasts two months (February to March), causes the displacement of thousands of workers originating in particular areas outside Pampanga. For lack of means, they are often forced to remain at the work place once the season is over, but without work. (yung iba nag-sstay sa Pampanga para humanap ng ibang trabaho kasi nagkakasakit sila sa exposure ng fertilizer at pagsusunog nung tubo) The International Labor Office in 2003 reported that former child laborers are three times more likely to need their own children to work. Child laborers cant developed their skills and risk condemning their own children to poverty and child labor. If you start your career as an unskilled laborer, you most likely will remain unskilled. Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, in an interview, likened child labor to modern day slavery and urged the Department of Labor and Employment and the Philippine National Police to shut down companies who employ child workers for hazardous work.

"High incidence of child labor illustrates the hard economic circumstances of the Filipino families, that even children at an early age are forced to finance their personal needs, source their own school allowance and assist their parents in providing the family's needs," he said. "Unfortunately, some unscrupulous individuals take advantage of this situation - the innocence of the child on human and labor rights, and cheap labor costs - by employing kids as laborers. We must take serious, hard-line stance against child labor and apprehend offenders at once," he added. DOLEs Child Labor-Free Campaign DOLE has launched the Child Labor-Free campaign last year to eliminate the incidence of child labor in the country,. It aims to transform 89 pre-identified barangays nationwide into child labor-free barangays. In Pampanga, DOLEs Region III Field Office also launched the campaign for a Child Labor-Free Barangay in partnership with the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC) of Barangay Pandacaqui in Mexico, Pampanga, along with the municipal government of Mexico. Agravante reported that Barangay Pandacaqui has the most number of child laborers in sugarcane plantations in Pampanga. Ang pagtaaas ng mga batang nagtratrabaho sa tubuhan ay dahil din sa dami nung mga lugar sa Pampanga na may taninm na tubo. Alam natin na isa sa pangunahing trabaho ng mga kapampangan ay ang pagtatabas ng tubo (The rise in the number of child laborers may be caused by the abundance of sugarcane plantations in Pampanga. We all know that working in the sugarcane fields is the primary occupation of the natives), said Agravante, a former child laborer. He added that the campaign was launched to inform the people about the governments action against child labor. Ang iba hindi nila alam na may batas pala para dito. Kaya madalas itong nalalabag (Others do not know about the law against child labor. This is why it is frequently violated), said Agravante.

Is ending child labor the end? But is eliminating child labor the end of it? In developing countries like the Philippines, keeping children away from work does not magically improve their situation.

It might feel good to oppose child labor, but the alternative for these children is not attending some nice school or relying on parental income; the alternative is an even lower standard of living if they cannot work. Under that scenario, most of these children would have zero income rather than a low income, said Jeffrey Miron in his book Libertarianism. All this doesnt mean that there are no cases in which the immediate abolition of child labor isnt the best option. Or that the long term goal shouldnt be the total eradication of child labor., Miron added.

A Child Labor-Free Baranggay According to Aggravante the campaign for a Child Labor-Free Barangay is a small step towards the total eradication of child labor. the battle against child labor is a long term process. We might see the effects of the campaign and other programs after several years. Based on DOLEs Bureau of Workers with Special Concern, the indicators of a child labor free barangay are as follows:

No child below 15 years of age works, unless in the two (2) exemptions under Republic Act No. 9231 (An Act Providing for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor and Affording Stronger Protection for the Working Child, Amending for this Purpose Republic Act No. 7610, as Amended, Otherwise Known as the Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act). No child below 18 years of age is engaged in the worst forms of child labor as specified under Republic Act No. 9231 . Working children 15 to below 18 years of age work within the allowable hours of work and are paid the prescribed wages. All children of school-age are attending formal school or alternative learning Sessions. Parents have economic activity to support the needs of their children. Presence of functional Barangay Council for the Protection of Children which monitors any incidence of child labor. Reports on incidence of child labor are immediately acted upon. Local ordinances or resolutions to address child labor concerns are implemented. Child labor concerns are included in the local development plan. Lord of the fields

Sugarcane land lords in Pampanga still hire child laborers despite the legal prohibitions. Nakakatulong sa amin ang mga paghihire ng child laborers dahil less payment for the salaries more income for us. ( Hiring child workers helps us earn more income because we only have to pay cheap labor), Nestor Alavarez, owner of a sugarcane field in Baliti, Pampanga, said. Alvarez said that because of a good harvest in 2011 he profited largely. He was able to add a hundred workers. ---BEB PADAGDAG NG INFO NA NAGSASABI NA MAS LUMAKI KITA DAHIL SA CHILD LABORERS---- AT IBA PANG LORDS OF THE FIELD. PAKI DESCRIBE SILA, YUNG YAMAN NILA, ETC IN ARTICLE FORM. KERI? THANKS! From father to son: Child labor, a matter of tradition An alarming trend looms over Pampanga and nearby provinces. In fact, for the Kapampangans, hiring workers who are 17 years old and below, is an open secret. In a developing country like the Philippines, children are a source of wealth to parents in terms of helping them with younger siblings. Noong unang panahon kasi dapat tumutulong ka sa magulang mo sa bukid para pagtanda nila hasa na yung mga bata (In the past, children need to help their parents in the field so that when they get old, the children are already adept at farming), Alvarez said. Sugarcane labor force has been recorded since 1909. The Sugar Regulatory Authority (SRA) of the Philippine government estimates that some 5 million Filipinos depend on the sugarcane production, among which children who work in the fields. Monnette Tayag, a sociologist from Holy Angel University in Angeles Pampanga said that to eliminate or lessen child labor Filipinos should give greater value for education. Ang mga Pilipino kasi ang mentality nila kapag nakatungtong ng grade school o high school pwede na. Akala din nila na kapag marunong ng sumulat at bumasa makakasurvive na sila. Hindi pwede yung ganun. Kailangan mong pataasin yung kaalaman mo paratataas yung value mo bilang tao kapag nag-aral ka (Filipinos have this certain mentality that grade school or high school is enough education for their children. They think that they can survive just by knowing how to read and write. It shouldnt be like that. One needs to advance their knowledge so that they can raise their worth as a person). The 43-year-old sociologist also said that Filipino family values may also be a source of dysfunction in the child labor system in the Philippines.

Here in Pampanga, when the father works, the common notion would be that his son should do the same. In that case, the child suffers physically and mentally. What happens is that they arent able to enjoy childhood. They lose time to play. The owner of the sugarcane plantation usually assigns areas of the plantation to various families to cultivate. In such a traditional tenant agricultural system, all family members, including children, work on the plantation. Under the laws provision of the children working with parents, this set up may not be categorized as child labor. But the law does not define any minimum age to begin work. In a recent article on the relationship of high fertility rates and child labor, sociologist John Caldwell stated that in agricultural economy people have many children because they see them as wealth -- meaning children are seen as source of help in the rice field and in farming areas, so they tend to have more children. Legal Exemptions According to Henry Lumbao, a lawyer in a private firm in Pampanga contradictory to their programs in eliminating child labor in sugrcane plantations, the Philippine law legally allows child labor. As stated from The Child Labor Law, it forbid the employment of children under the age of 15 except when there is a direct consent of a parent or gurdian. While when the child is working in the entertainment or showbiz industry is necessary for the parent to secure child worker;s permit from DOLE. Also the child labor law indicates that minors are allowed to work when the job does not cause danger to the childs life, protection, health values. the law also dictates that the children education or schooling should be pursued. The job of the child should not impede the child to learn . The growing number of child workers in the sugarcane planations are also caused by the parent who gives approval to their child to work. Nato, a 11-year-old laborer in the sugarcane plantation of Mang Nestor said that it was not his will to work in the plantation. I was only forced by my mother to work because I need to provide food in the table Lumbao said, Under the laws provision, the children working with parents, might not be categorized as child labour, unless the child can testify that he was forced by his or her parents. Moreover, the law does not define any minimum age to begin work. Natos mother Mercyi decline the statement of Nato. She said that It was Natos choice to work in the plantation because he wants to have his own money. I did not force him. He asked me if I can allow him to work in the field. I do not want him to suffer, but I did not have other options to earn money.

The mayors response Oscar Rodriguez, Mayor of City of San Fernando in Pampanga, said the government will take immediate action regarding the proliferation of child labor in the sugarcane fields in Pampanga. We will ask help from government and non-government institution to resolve this child labor problem. We will impose stricter rules in requesting permits to avoid any anomalies. We will have regular monitoring in our agencies to see whether these rules are followed. He added that he will make sure that by the second quarter of 2013, no child will be working in the fields. Who is to blame? The rising number of child workers can be caused by many factors that influence the attitude of the children towards work. Tayag said that the primary responsibility of providing a healthy environment for the children is the parents. They will not be compelled to work, unless they feel that they are not provided with their needs. Neri father of John Romer admits that his salary could not afford the necessities of his family. hanggang grade 1 lang kasi ako. Kaya sinisisisi ko sarali ko dahil kailangan niyang gawin yung trabaho para sa matandang tulad ko. ( I only finished first grade. And I kept blaming my self because he needs to experience a work reserved for aldults like me. While, Merci and Rona mother of Justin claim that it was the lack of initiative of the government that cause the suffering of many young children. For their part, they are not satisfied with the programs of the government against child labor. Maguumpisa sila ng programa tapos hindi mo man maramdaman ang epekto. ( they will launch and program then the effect will not be felt.) Rona said. The government of CSFP did not directly admitted that there are loopholes in their programs. But Rodriguez said that they will try to improve their programs by allotting grater budget. However, Mike Bautista former accounting officer in DOLE said that the blame should be (given) to the DOLE officers and city personnel who accept bribes from landowners. kailangan kasing sumunod sa batas, hindi pwede yung pera lang

batayan para masabi momg legal.

Leny, 54-year-old mother of John Romer, admitted that she influenced her child to work at an early age. nasisisi ako na ako pa mismo ang tumulak sa anak ko na magtrabaho. Mas maganda sana kung nag-aaral siya tulad nung ibang bata.