PIA | ILO-IPEC recognizes gov’t agencies’ contribution on the elimination of child labor

PIA | ILO-IPEC recognizes gov’t agencies’ contribution on the elimination of child labor

ILO-IPEC recognizes gov’t agencies’ contribution on the elimination of child labor

By: Ruel M. Orinday

Tuesday 26th of November 2013

TAYABAS CITY, Quezon, Nov. 26 (PIA) --The International Program for Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC) recently awarded certificates of appreciation to government agencies that supported their programs on the elimination child labor cases in the province of Quezon for the past three years.

The awardees are Quezon Police Provincial Office; Department of Education (DepEd)-Quezon and Lucena City; Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-Quezon; Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) and the provincial government of Quezon.

Cecille Colarina, provincial coordinator of ILO-IPEC in Quezon province who led the awarding of certificates thanked the national and local government agencies and the volunteers for extending profound and valuable contribution in the implementation of ILO’s project.

“Over the period of three years, IPEC helped organize and reactivate provincial child labor committees, built the capacity of provincial and local stakeholders and identified direct implementing partners and through them delivered services to beneficiaries that ultimately led to withdrawal and prevention of children from child labor,” Colarina said.

The passage of legislations prohibiting child labor and providing services for child labor and their families as well as inclusion of child labor program in local development plans and annual development plans setting an enabling environment for child labor initiatives are some of the good practices of ILO-IPEC at the provincial and local level.

IPEC, according to Colarina, has been granted a three-month no-cost extension. Thus instead of ending on September 30, the programme will close on December 31, 2013.

Prior to the closure, several phase-over activities are being undertaken to ensure that the roles of the government and other local partners are expanding based on institutionalized mechanisms at this point that IPEC is closing out.

ILO-IPEC programme has operated also in other three demonstration sites for area-based services in child labour elimination namely:  Masbate, Bukidnon and Northern Samar with the goal of identifying successful models of interventions to withdraw and prevent children from child labor. (RMO/ PIA-Quezon)