He is one of the strongest workers in a downtown construction project in Makati City. Jesse, not his real name, can lift two pieces of 24 inch hollow blocks in his hands and a bag of cement on his shoulder in one errand. He can carry sacks of sand on his back and forth, up and down inclined planks, four floors up without pausing to catch his breath. During lunch break, he can still manage to crack several pieces of ice for his workmates, with his bare hands. His skin is deeply tanned, proof of hard toil over the years. He has never learned any task in his life except what is asked of him: hard labor. On top of these, Jesse is just 15 years old.
Jesse is not new to this kind of work as he comes from a small seaside village somewhere in Sorsogon. At the age of six, he started working as an errand boy for fishermen. His family’s meager income could not even afford him a pair of slippers to get to school. In that young age, school was the last thing in his mind. His daily task started at around five o’clock in the morning with carrying small baskets of fish and hauling ice blocks. Later in the day, he was also mending nets and cleaning boats. With these tasks, he was given free lunch and was just paid two pesos per errand. At the end of each day, he managed to save eight to ten pesos. He could only literally set foot in school if all the tasks were finished early or if he had no chores to do.
As Jesse got older, the work load he carried also became heavier. He was not hauling ice blocks anymore. He was now carrying them on his bare head. The small baskets he used to carry now were large “banyeras” (pails) of fish. Instead of cleaning, Jesse was now pulling boats to dry-dock. His physical ability was now known to other fisher folk and demands for his services made him cancel his schooling altogether. Despite of all these, he still was paid the same: free lunch and two pesos per errand. He was now eleven years old yet he was happy and quite contented.
At the onset of the operation of illegal trawlers and “pangulongs” in their fish grounds, the folks slowly lost their way of life. Some of them resorted to the less lucrative trade of coconut farming or “paglulukad.” Others decided to try their luck in urban areas hoping to find their own “yellow brick road.”
Wanting to escape inopportunity from his small seaside village, Jess and his equally unemployed father arrived in the metropolis two years ago to look for an employer who may have use for his physical skills. The construction work he landed in again made Jesse pleased because this time, he was being paid 150 pesos a day and again, free lunch. It is a far cry from what he used to earn in his village home. Little does Jesse know that his skills are far more worth than that.
Jesse is just one speck in the number of child laborers in the Philippines and even in the world today. According to the International Labor Organization, in 2003 they estimated that “…worldwide, more than 10 million children are employed in drug-trafficking, sex work, and other hazardous labor.” The same survey results show that Asia has the largest number of child laborers with more than a 110 million working children ages 5 to 14.
Ironically, the said study also shows that indeed the number of child workers decreased in a certain region with the improvement of economic benefits. Any one can agree that the prevalent situation on youngsters toiling for their survival has something to do with the economic conditions of a certain place. In other words, we solve the problem by improving the economy.
Clearly, laws for children in the country were enacted starting way back in 1974 with the Labor Code of the Philippines. The law allowed 15 year-olds to be employed but banned those below 18 from working in dangerous tasks. These and other national directives however would be futile if they were not to be fully and strictly implemented at the local level.
In the case of Jesse for instance, had there been guidelines being implemented on this law at the barangay level, the young man’s present state-of-health could have been averted. In short, local leaders should be mindful that such labor tenets exist and that they are critical to the protection and development of young Filipinos.
Today, Jesse’s body is now suffering from the effects of the abuse. He now complains of pains commonly found in middle-aged men. According to studies, bone damage is common in child workers especially if they started at a very early age. If this health condition of Jesse remains unchecked, he may not be able to work anymore when he reaches the age of 21.
By then, he will sadly be an inept individual in his prime.
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