CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA)--As one of the pilot cities in the implementation of World Vision‘s Project Against Child Exploitation (Project ACE) along with the three barangay local government units, Cagayan de Oro was this year‘s host for the Regional Partners Review and Assessment, March 29–31, 2023, at Chali Resort, Cugman, here.
The three-day event aimed to determine milestones from the 2022 Joint Call to Action Statements and Sustainability Roadmap.
Reports were obtained from the Department of Labor and Employment-National Capital Region, LGU-Quezon City, Philippine Chamber of Commerce, DOLE-10, LGU Cagayan de Oro City, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-10, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)-10, Philippine National Police (PNP)-10, and City Social Welfare and Development (CSWD), among many other participating organizations and agencies.
Currently, the crusade to curb the worst forms of child labor (WCFL) and online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC), with the collaborative initiative of authorities and organizations from both the private and public sectors, has gained momentum.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-10, under the direction of Regional Director Albert E. Gutib, is proud to report that Cagayan de Oro City has been very proactive in implementing the Child Labor Prevention and Elimination Program (CLPEP), whose parents of profiled child laborers received livelihood assistance and emergency employment under the program.
In addition, DOLE-10 CDO FO will be releasing P30,000 worth of individual starter kits to 100 parents of child laborers (PCL) as a long-term, profitable solution to prevent their children from repetitively engaging in hazardous, age-inappropriate labor.
Through a sustainable livelihood, their parents will be able to elevate their economic circumstances without compromising the growth and education of these profiled children.
As Toledo has recounted, there will always be cases of child labor and exploitation as long as poverty prevails. As an organization that also champions for the welfare of children’s rights, in convergence and partnership with Project ACE partners, the call for organizations to be educated and converged at the forefront in order to combat evolving forms of exploitation among children only gets stronger now that there are visible results from initial efforts. (DOLE-10/PIA-10)
