The highlights of the five studies on child labor will be presented at the research forum, “Child Labor in the Sugarcane Industry: Understanding Its Realities, Facing Its Challenges” at Hall 3 of the Santuario de la Salle, University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Friday.

The research was a collaboration among ABK3 LEAP, University of the Philippines Social Action and Research for Development Foundation, Inc. and USLS in Bacolod City.

It focused on the occupational and safety hazards of child laborers, sakadas, land reform and its implications on child labor, and increasing productivity in sugarcane through block farming.

A press release from the group said that child labor in the sugarcane industry is complex and is caused by a myriad of factors including intergenerational poverty, lack of access to quality education, cultural acceptance of child labor, systems in sugarcane farming, and a lack of reliable data on the number and profile of children working in kampos, among others.

“We want this forum to be a venue for the sugar industry, government agencies, local governments, and the academe to talk about the implications of these researches and the actions required to respond to the needs of child laborers like Danny,” Daphne Culanag, ABK3 LEAP project director, said.

“I was 12 years old when I started working at the farm. I had no choice but to work and help my family,” 16-year old Danny said. When his father suffered from a heart attack, Danny and his siblings had no choice but to help their mother earn a living. Even then, their combined earnings are not enough to make ends meet.

Danny is one of the 54,139 children and 30,486 households directly assisted by ABK3 LEAP. After four years of implementation, the project will soon leave its partner communities. Danny's future is still unclear. Child laborers like him need all the support they can get to break free from the vicious cycle of child labor and poverty and start a brighter, sweeter life.

The findings of the 2011 NSO Survey on Children show that 62.4 percent of the 2.99 million Filipino child laborers doing hazardous work are in the agriculture sector, but there is no disaggregated data for crops such as sugarcane. Danny and other sugarcane child laborers remain invisible and unprotected despite the existing laws and regulations in the country.*

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