MANABO, Abra — For 16-year-old “Tina” (not her real name) of Barangay Catacdegan, life once meant juggling books and backbreaking work. Like many children in rural communities, she helped her parents on the farm and around the house just to make ends meet. Her days were long, her studies often interrupted, and her dreams seemed distant.
Everything changed on April 12, 2025, when the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) profiled her through the Child Labor Prevention and Elimination Program (CLPEP). The profiling, done across Abra and the Cordillera, aims to reach children who are forced into work due to poverty and give their families the support needed to restore their childhoods.
National data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) shows that about 1.48 million Filipino children aged 5 to 17 were engaged in work in 2022, with 828,000 considered child laborers—those in hazardous or exploitative conditions. In Cordillera, there are 12,306 identified child laborers in 2023.
For Tina, being profiled meant the beginning of change. Her family was included in DOLE’s DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP) Negokart project, a component of the CLPEP that provides sustainable livelihood assistance to parents and guardians of child laborers. In September 2025, her mother received a Negokart livelihood package from DOLE-Abra Field Office, which became a small but steady source of income for the family.
That support became Tina’s turning point. “Simula nung kumita na ang nanay ko sa Negokart, hindi ko na kinailangan magtrabaho. Nakapag-focus na ako uli sa school (When my mother started earning through the Negokart, I didn’t have to work anymore. I could finally focus on school),” she shared.
Freed from the weight of work, Tina’s potential flourished. She returned to school full-time and even represented her province in the DOLE-CAR Regional Office’s Video Reel Contest, where she won 2nd place in the female category for her short film “Hapag sa Kalsada.” The video told a story of hope and resilience amid the challenges of child labor, which reflected her own journey.
Today, Tina proudly calls herself a student, not a worker. “Dati, ang akala ko, dapat tumulong ako sa mga magulang ko sa pagtatanim, akala ko responsibilidad ko yun. Ngayon, napag-alaman ko na ang pag-aaral ang paraan para matulungan ko and aming kinabukasan (I used to think helping my parents on the farm was my only duty. Now, I know that studying is my way of helping them in the long run.”
Her transformation highlights how DOLE’s Child Labor Prevention and Elimination Program (CLPEP) works—not just by removing children from labor but by addressing the root cause: poverty. The program includes: Profiling and rescuing children in hazardous or exploitative work; Providing livelihood aid to parents to help them earn a decent income; Conducting awareness and advocacy campaigns to keep children in school; and partnering with local governments, schools, and communities to make child labor prevention a shared responsibility.
In 2024 alone, more than 960 parents in the Cordillera received livelihood starter kits worth up to ?30,000 each through DILP assistance. These small enterprises, such as food vending to retail, and handicrafts, help families stay afloat without relying on their children’s labor.
From the fields of Manabo to the classrooms of Abra, Tina’s story is a testament to the transformative power of targeted government intervention and community support. It reminds us that when a child is given a chance to learn, grow, and dream freely, the whole community moves closer to a future free from child labor. **
