DOLE, Albay sign anti-child labor pact

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Albay provincial government have intensified the fight against child labor by forming a provincial anti-child labor committee. According to a news release on the DOLE website, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz and Albay Governor Jose Salceda signed an agreement creating the Albay Provincial Anti-Child Labor Committee (APACLC). “This agreement demonstrates Albay’s and the DOLE’s serious resolve to promote children’s rights and lick the worst forms of child labor in the Bicol region. It sends a warning signal to child labor perpetrators that the law is not sleeping on them," Baldoz said. The signing of the agreement was one of the highlights of Baldoz's two-day visit ot Bicol. Under the APACLC, the following groups will fight child labor together: government, national, provincial, local and international non-government organizations, church-based groups, and law enforcement agencies. The APACLC is expected to promote the rights of children and eliminate child labor in Bicol. Salceda said he is "happy to ally with the DOLE in the launching of a full-scale 'battle' against child labor and in eliminating the worst forms of child labor like prostitution, white slavery, children in mining and those who are being used in armed conflict." - VVP, GMA News