CITY OF SAN JOSE DEL MONTE – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has provided livelihood assistance to 20 parents of former child laborers in Bulacan.
DOLE Assistant Regional Director and Bulacan Officer-in-Charge Alejandro Inza Cruz led the awarding of P30,000 worth of goods for rice store, canteen, and sari-sari store businesses during the opening of the Mega Job Fair in line with the 123rd Labor Day celebration held at SM City San Jose Del Monte.
Recipients include Sittie Dungan who is a vegetable farmer and has six children, some of whom were former child laborers.
Her life improved when she became a beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program which was instrumental for her to have a Sari-Sari Store business and now venturing into another source of income by putting up a Bigasan or a rice store with the help of DOLE.
During the recent meeting of the Provincial Advisory Council on the Welfare of Women and Children, DOLE reported that even after child labor cases returned in the province following the declaration of Child-Labor Free in 2012, cases went down again.
Data obtained from the agency shows that child labor cases totaled to 788 in the first four months of 2025, which was lower compared to the 1,800 recorded during the same period in 2024. (CLJD/SFV, PIA Region 3-Bulacan)