Country profile PHL
Context
Context
| Year | Age group | Proportion | Gender | Indicator | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 5-17 | 1.7 | Male | Proportion of children engaged in economic activity, by sex and age (%) | Source |
| 2021 | 5-17 | 1.3 | Female | Proportion of children engaged in economic activity, by sex and age (%) | Source |
| 2021 | 5-17 | 1.5 | Male & Female | Proportion of children engaged in economic activity, by sex and age (%) | Source |
National Legal Framework
National Legal Framework
| Provision | Legislation date | Convention | Legislation info | sources | Value | sort_order | Provision description | Legislation description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| List of hazardous activities prohibited for children | 2003 | C138 & C182 | Republic Act No. 9231, An Act Providing for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour and Affording Stronger Protection for the Working Child - Sections 12-D and 14 | [{"link_name":"Republic Act No. 9231","source_link":"http://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/2/1388"}] | Yes | 7 | C138 and C182 require the national determination of a list of hazardous work prohibited for children under 18 years of age. The competent authorities should consult with workers' and employers' organizations to determine what types of employment or work are considered to be hazardous. Such a list shall be periodically examined and revised as necessary. | Sections 12-D and 14 of Republic Act No. 7610, as amended by Republic Act No. 9231, outline categories of hazardous work for persons below 18. These include work that debases or demeans a child’s dignity; involves abuse; is performed underground, underwater, or at dangerous heights; uses dangerous tools or machinery; or occurs in unhealthy environments. Department Orders No. 149 and 149-A by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) provide detailed guidelines for assessing hazardous work in line with these legal provisions. |
| Minimum age for hazardous work | 2003 | C138 & C182 | Republic Act No. 9231, An Act Providing for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour and Affording Stronger Protection for the Working Child - Sections 2(4) and Section 12-D | [{"link_name":"Republic Act No. 9231","source_link":"https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/2/1388"}] | 18 | 6 | C138 and C182 set 18 as the minimum age for hazardous work, which is defined as work that, due to its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to jeopardize children’s health, safety or morals. C138 and C182 allow countries to permit hazardous work exceptionally as from 16, provided that the health, safety and morals of the young persons concerned are fully protected and that they have received adequate specific instruction or training. | Sections 2(4) and Section 12-D of Republic Act No. 9231 explicitly prohibit the employment of children in hazardous work, setting 18 as the minimum age. The law defines hazardous work as any work which exposes children to physical, emotional, or moral danger, including work in dangerous environments, with dangerous tools or machinery, or in illicit activities. |
| Is the use, procuring or offering of children for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs, prohibited? | 2003 | C182 | Republic Act 9165, Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 - Sections 5 and 10 | [{"link_name":"Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002","source_link":"https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2002/ra_9165_2002.html"}] | Yes | 11 | C182 prohibits the use, procuring or offering of children for illicit activities in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. | Section 5 of Republic Act 9165 provides that the penalty shall be life imprisonment to death and a fine ranging from ₱500,000 to ₱10 million if a dangerous drug is sold, traded, administered, dispensed, delivered, distributed or transported with the use of a minor as runner, courier, or in any other capacity. Section 10 further mandates that the penalty for employing or using minors in drug-related activities shall be imposed in its maximum period. |
| Is the use, procuring or offering of a child for the purpose of prostitution and for production of pornography prohibited? | 2009; 2022 ; 2022 | C182 | Anti-Child Pornography Act, 2009 (Republic Act No. 9775); Special Protection Against Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children Act, 2022 (Republic Act No. 11930); Republic Act No. 116481 (2022) | [{"link_name":"-Anti-Child Pornography Act, 2009 (Republic Act No. 9775)","source_link":"https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2009/ra_9775_2009.html"},{"link_name":"-Special Protection Against Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children Act, 2022 (Republic Act No. 11930)","source_link":"https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2022/ra_11930_2022.html"},{"link_name":"-Republic Act No. 116481 (2022)","source_link":"https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2022/ra_11648_2022.html"}] | Yes | 10 | C182 prohibits the use of a child under the age of 18 for prostitution, regardless of the child's consent. The use, procuring or offering of any person under the age of 18 for commercial sexual exploitation constitutes a worst form of child labour, even if prostitution is a legalised. In regard to the prohibition of child pornography, States need to make sure that national legislation addresses the involvement of a child in the production of pornographic materials, including non-recorded performances. | Republic Act No. 9775 prohibits the production, use, sale, distribution, and possession of child pornography, defining a child as anyone under 18. Republic Act No. 116481 penalises the hiring, employing, or coercing of a child to perform in obscene exhibitions and indecent shows. Republic Act No. 11930 strengthens protections against child sexual abuse and exploitation both offline and online, and imposes responsibilities on social media platforms, internet service providers, and financial intermediaries. |
| Is forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18 for use in armed conflict prohibited? | 2003 | C182 | Republic Act No. 7610 – Section 22(b) | [{"link_name":"Republic Act No. 7610","source_link":"https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra1992/ra_7610_1992.html"}] | Yes | 9 | C182 defines forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18 for use in armed conflict as a worst form of child labour. Nevertheless, C182 only prohibits the forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18, and does not cover the voluntary recruitment of children under 18. | Section 22(b) of Republic Act 7610 prohibits the recruitment of children under 18 years of age into the Armed Forces of the Philippines or other armed groups. It declares such recruitment or use of children in armed conflict as a form of child abuse and exploitation, punishable under the Act. |
| Is the sale and trafficking of children for sexual and labour exploitation prohibited? | 2003 | C182 | Republic Act No. 9208, as amended by Republic Act No. 10364 (Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act) | [{"link_name":"Republic Act No. 9208","source_link":"https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2013/ra_10364_2013.html"}] | Yes | 8 | C182 defines all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour as worst forms of child labour. | The law prohibits the trafficking of children for sexual and labour exploitation. It criminalises acts such as recruitment, transport, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, including children, by means of threat, coercion, abduction, fraud, or deception, for the purpose of exploitation. The amendment (RA 10364) reinforces provisions for child protection, explicitly including trafficking for sexual and labour purposes as punishable offences. |
| Minimum age for admission to apprenticeship | 1974 | C138 | Labour Code of the Philippines | [{"link_name":"Labour Code of the Philippines","source_link":"https://lawphil.net/statutes/presdecs/pd1974/pd_442_1974.html"}] | 15 | 5 | C138 does not apply to work done in school for general, vocational or technical education or in training institutions or work done by children at least 14 years of age in undertakings, where such work is carried out in accordance with conditions prescribed by the competent authority. Such work must be an integral part of: (i) a course of education or training for which a school or training institution is primarily responsible; (ii) a programme of training mainly or entirely in an undertaking, which programme has been approved by the competent authority; or (iii) a programme of guidance or orientation designed to facilitate the choice of an occupation or of a line of training. | The Labour Code provides that the minimum age for apprenticeship is 15 years. Apprenticeship is defined as practical training on the job supplemented by related theoretical instruction. It must be approved by the competent authority and may be undertaken as part of a training programme. |
| Is the minimum age for admission to work not less than the age for completion of compulsory schooling? | 1974 ; 2013 | C138 | Labour Code of the Philippines - Article 139 ; Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 - Section 4 | [{"link_name":"-Labour Code of the Philippines","source_link":"https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/natlex2/files/download/15242/PHL15242%202022.pdf"},{"link_name":"-Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013","source_link":"https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2013/ra_10533_2013.html"}] | No | 4 | C138 requires that the minimum age for admission to work shall not be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling and, in any case, shall not be less than 15 years. | The Labour Code sets the minimum age for work at 15 years. However, the Enhanced Basic Education Act makes basic education compulsory until the completion of Grade 12, typically around age 18. Therefore, the legislation does not comply with the requirement that the minimum working age must not be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling. |
| Light work - Determination of types and conditions of activities | 2003 | C138 | Republic Act No. 9231, Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act | [{"link_name":"Republic Act No. 9231","source_link":"https://chanrobles.com/republicactno9231.html"}] | N/A | 3 | If the country chooses to allow light work, States must determine what activities are considered light work, and the hours and the circumstances under which they may be carried out. | The legislation permits employment of children under 15 under specific conditions but does not contain a formal list or detailed classification of “light work.” |
| Minimum age for light work | 2003 | C138 | Republic Act No. 9231, Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act | [{"link_name":"Republic Act No. 9231","source_link":"https://chanrobles.com/republicactno9231.html"}] | N/A | 2 | C138 defines light work as work that does not interfere with children’s schooling, or their ability to benefit from it, and that is not hazardous. C138 allows countries to permit light work for children younger than the general minimum age. For countries that set the minimum age at 15, this means children aged 13-14, and for those that set it at 14, children aged 12-13 may engage in light work. | While the Act permits the employment of children below 15 years of age under certain strict conditions, it does not explicitly mention or define “light work.” Permissible work must not endanger the child’s life, health, safety, or morals, must not interfere with schooling, and is limited to 20 hours per week and 4 hours per day. |
| Minimum age for admission to work | 2003 | C138 | Republic Act No. 9231, Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act - Section 12 | [{"link_name":"Republic Act No. 9231","source_link":"https://chanrobles.com/republicactno9231.html"}] | 15 | 1 | C138 establishes 15 as the minimum age for work in general. Developing countries have the option of setting a minimum age of 14 as a transitional measure as they strengthen their education systems and economies. | Section 12 of Republic Act No. 9231 amends the Labour Code of the Philippines by setting the minimum age for employment at 15 years. Children below 15 may only work under the sole responsibility of their parents or legal guardians, provided the work does not endanger their life, safety, health or morals and does not interfere with their schooling. |
International Legal Framework
International Legal Framework
| Ratification status | Convention | Convention description | Date of ratification | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in-force | C182 | Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) | 28-NOV-2000 | Source |
| in-force | C138 | Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) | 04-JUN-1998 | Source |
Policies and Plans
Policies and Plans
| Description | sources | Period | Policy name | Implementing agency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| This plan seeks to prevent and suppress human trafficking, including online sexual exploitation of children, through a coordinated national response. It focuses on four key result areas: (1) Prevention, (2) Protection and Reintegration, (3) Prosecution and Law Enforcement, and (4) Partnership and Networking. The plan also includes provisions for survivor rehabilitation and reintegration, strengthened data systems, and community engagement through a multi-stakeholder approach. | [{"link_name":"National Strategic Action Plan Against Trafficking in Persons","source_link":"https://iacat.gov.ph/4th-national-strategic-plan/"}] | 2023–2027 | National Strategic Action Plan Against Trafficking in Persons | Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) |
| This Strategic Framework aims to gradually reduce child labour in the Philippines through multi-sectoral consultations with government institutions, NGOs, civil society, faith-based groups, professional associations, academia, the private sector, parents, and children. It seeks to harmonise national efforts in addressing child labour, especially its worst forms. The framework prioritises data collection, inter-agency collaboration, awareness raising, and capacity building at the local and national levels. | [{"link_name":"Philippine Program Against Child Labor Strategic Framework","source_link":"https://batangmalaya.ph/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/APPROVED-PPACL-Strategic-Framework-2023-2028_-28-March-2023.pdf"}] | 2023–2028 | Philippine Program Against Child Labor Strategic Framework | National Council Against Child Labour (NCACL), chaired by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and co-chaired by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). |