COTABATO CITY — Twenty rescued child laborers, once burdened by work in farms, markets, and garbage dumpsites, are now being given a chance to return to school after receiving cash aid and school supplies from the Bangsamoro government over the weekend.
The children, each granted ₱15,000 in assistance plus educational provisions, are beneficiaries of the Bangsamoro Child Labor Sagip Program (BCLSP), a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MoLE-BARMM) aimed at pulling minors out of hazardous labor and back into classrooms.
Child Laborers Should Be ‘In School, Not In Farms’
Ten of the rescued children belong to indigenous Teduray families in Romangaob and Kuya, South Upi, Maguindanao del Sur. They previously worked long hours in rice and corn fields, or sold food and goods in public terminals to help support their families.
The other ten, from Barangay Poblacion 9 in Cotabato City, survived by scavenging recyclable materials at the city’s garbage dumpsite—an unsafe environment where they earned meager amounts to supplement their parents’ income.
“These children deserve to be in school, not in farms or dumpsites,” said Labor Minister Muslimin Sema, who vowed continued support for their reintegration into education. Bureau director Bai Sara Jane Sinsuat added that the program will give these minors “a fresh start and a safer future.”
Beyond economic exploitation, the BCLSP also seeks to protect children from being recruited as combatants in clan wars and local conflicts, where poverty and disputes often expose minors to violence.
Statistics on Child Laborers
Officials held the distribution of aid at the MoLE-BARMM regional office in Cotabato City, where the children received their grants and supplies in a simple ceremony.
Since 2023, the program has rescued 691 child laborers across the region. The program has already re-enrolled most of them in schools.
Meanwhile, the program has assisted their parents through livelihood projects such as mushroom cultivation, livestock raising, and native delicacy production. These livelihood trainings ensures that families have alternative sources of income that do not rely on child labor.
Sema expressed gratitude to the International Labor Organization, local government units, Cotabato City Mayor Bruce C. Matabalao, and partner NGOs for sustaining the program. He also noted the support of Bangsamoro ministries of health, social services, and education in strengthening the initiative.
For the rescued children, the program marks a turning point: from days of toil in fields and dumpsites to renewed hope in classrooms.
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