The Sugar Industry Foundation, Inc. (SIFI) takes part in the Stakeholders’ Consultation of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Luzon and Visayas.
Throughout April and May 2025, DOLE conducted its nationwide Stakeholders’ Consultation for the review of Guidelines in Assessing and Determining Hazardous Work in the Employment of Persons below 18 Years of Age, also known as the DOLE Department Order No. 149, Series of 2016, as amended. The consultation was divided in batches held in various regions with participants from 3 sectors – construction, manufacturing, and agriculture. SIFI represented the civil society organizations under the agriculture sector.
The DOLE presented a situationer on working children and child labor, a situational analysis on children engaged in hazardous work, and the different hazardous work in agriculture, construction, and manufacturing sectors. The International Framework on Hazardous Work for Children was also presented by the International Labour Organization (ILO), as well as the Institute for Labor Studies’ research on hazardous work for children.
Photo Courtesy: DOLE Western Visayas
An open forum was conducted following the presentations, igniting a productive discussion on recommendations for the amendment of the department order. Issues and concerns mainly on the synchronization of monitoring procedures were raised by different agencies and NGOs. The stakeholders and the DOLE collectively agreed its goal to prioritize creating laws for the best interest of the children’s development and protection.
Photo Courtesy: DOLE Western Visayas
SIFI currently has 44 active Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organizations (ARBOs) under the Child Labor Mitigation Program (CLMP) and the Integrated ARBO Child Labor and PPE Program (IACAP). These 44 ARBOs have trained 89 Child Rights Advocates who play a crucial role in the awareness-raising activities in farming communities, engagement of barangay partners, and child labor monitoring.
