The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has provided PHP3.6 million worth of livelihood assistance to 120 parents of child laborers in Sogod, Southern Leyte in a bid to address the root causes of child labor through sustainable income opportunities.

Norma Rae Costimiano, DOLE-Eastern Visayas regional information officer, said on Friday that their agency turned over the livelihood assistance during a ceremonial awarding on Thursday at the Sogod Municipal Gymnasium under the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP).

“We always make sure that parents of child laborers as listed in our profile are given livelihood assistance. Through this initiative, child labor has been addressed in many areas of the region since there are new livelihood opportunities for their parents,” Costimiano said in a phone interview.

The assistance consisted of livelihood packages tailored to the beneficiaries’ chosen enterprises, including barbershop services, cake and bread vending, carpentry, dressmaking and tailoring, snack vending, fish vending, fishing, ginger farming, ice cream making, meat vending, painting services, peanut butter production, Piso Wi-Fi business, poultry raising, rag making, tilapia farming, tuba (coconut wine) vending, vegetable farming, vulcanizing and welding.

Each beneficiary received tools, equipment and other materials needed to immediately start or expand their livelihood projects.

“Initially, we just provide assistance once for us to be able to extend livelihood opportunities to more parents of child laborers. We also refer them to partner agencies such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development and local government units for further assistance based on their needs,” Costimiano told the Philippine News Agency.

DOLE Southern Leyte field office head Eden Ligaya Golong said in a statement the assistance is part of the government’s commitment to improving the economic condition of vulnerable families while protecting children from labor.

“By empowering parents of child laborers with viable sources of income, we are not only helping improve their economic condition but also strengthening our collective efforts to ensure that every child remains in school and is protected from child labor,” Golong stated.

Child laborers in Sogod town reportedly work in farms and quarry sites.

The livelihood assistance is aligned with the commitment of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino to provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for vulnerable sectors.

Sogod town Mayor Sheffered Lino S. Tan thanked DOLE for its continued support to the municipality through livelihood interventions that directly benefit vulnerable families.

Tan also assured beneficiaries of the local government’s continued assistance to help ensure the success and sustainability of their livelihood projects.

The DILP seeks to enable disadvantaged workers and vulnerable families to establish or strengthen income-generating ventures, helping improve household incomes and reducing the likelihood that children will engage in child labor. (PNA)