ITOGON, Benguet – The Department of Labor and Employment-Cordillera Administrative Region (DOLE-CAR) extended its support to ten parents of profiled child laborers through the DOLE-Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP). The beneficiaries received the assistance following a short awarding ceremony held on February 4, 2025, at the Municipal Gymnasium of Itogon, Benguet.
Gracing the event are Municipal Councilor Norberto I. Pacio and Municipal Administrator Arnel Bahingwan, and event organizer Public Employment Service Office (PESO) Manager Donna Comising, who all welcomed and congratulated the livelihood recipients and other attendees. They reminded the recipients that the livelihood aid is a stepping stone towards a better future for the families and their children.
DOLE-CAR Assistant Regional Director Atty. Olivia O. Obrero-Samson similarly urged the recipients to use the livelihood assistance prudently, in hope of improving the lives of the children and the community. Atty. Obrero-Samson also voiced her gratitude to the municipal government of Itogon for the extensive effort in the prevention and elimination of child labor in the locality.
The parents of child laborers received assistance in the form of capital goods such as rice, eggs, and frozen foods for retail, piglets and feeds for hog raising, and baking and cooking equipment and ingredients for food-related livelihood projects, amounting to PhP361,923.00.
The Department of Labor and Employment’s Integrated Livelihood Program and the Child Labor Prevention and Elimination Program (CLPEP) work hand-in-hand to address child labor and uplift families from poverty. Through CLPEP, child laborers and their families are identified and assisted under DILP. Livelihood packages, such as starter kits and financial support, are provided to parents or guardians of child laborers, giving them sustainable income opportunities.
Skills training and ongoing support from DOLE help families achieve stability, free children from labor, and ensure their return to school, through community and government collaboration. By Daryll B. Ponard
