ILO, Bangsamoro Gov’t. commemorate World Day Against Child Labor
COTABATO CITY (June 28, 2025) — In commemoration of the World Day Against Child Labor (WDACL), the International Labor Organization (ILO) led a joint community mobilization in Barangay Looy, bringing together partners to reaffirm the call to protect children’s rights to education, health, and a safe childhood.
Themed: “Malinaw ang pag-unlad, ngunit marami pa ang dapat gawin; bilisan natin ang mga pagsisikap,” the event drew support from agencies of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and UNICEF Philippines, along with government representatives including the Ministry of Labor and Employment, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Agrarian Reform, Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education (MBHTE) and civil society groups such as ChildFund Philippines and Castromayor Integrated Farm School (CIFSI).
Highlighting this year’s WDACL celebration was the ceremonial launching of 2 Community-based Service Outlets (CBSOs) – a Business Center and Mushroom Farm led by ILO and BLGU Looy.
These are strategic ways to sustain the Community-based Child Labor Monitoring System (CB-CLMS) currently being implemented by the barangay local government unit through the Sub Committee on Child Labor under the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC).
The Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) of Barangay Looy also launched their scholarship program aimed at supporting child laborers, children at risk, child laborer, and other vulnerable youth in the community.
Meanwhile, the government and development partners also expressed their support and commitment to sustain the gains of interventions aimed at reducing if not eliminating child labor in agriculture.
By strengthening the convergence between food security, decent work, and inclusive recovery, this initiative demonstrates that rural transformation is possible, and child labor has no place in it.
This joint action in the Bangsamoro demonstrates the UN’s shared commitment to child rights, inclusive recovery, and sustainable peace, where every child is protected and every family is empowered.
The ILO supports BARMM in eliminating Child Labor through the ARISE Child Labor Project with support from the Government of Japan. (Tu Alid Alfonso, BMN/BangsamoroToday)
