• Introduction and Overview
• Government Agencies
• Non-Government Agencies
• Demographic Profile
• Social Protection
• Child, Youth and Family Policy Regimes
• Maternity Benefits
• Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC)
• Child Education
• Child Health
• Special Groups of Children
• Child Labor
• Child Trafficking/Prostitution
• Children with HIV/AIDS
• Children in Armed Conflict
• Note
• References

(Last updated October 2006)

Introduction and Overview

Located in Southeastern Asia, the Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7,100 islands situated east of Vietnam between the Philippines Sea and the South China sea. Of the 7,100 islands that form the Philippines, most of the land area is shared among the 11 largest islands. Covering a total area of 300,000 sq. km (116,000 sq. miles), its size is slightly larger than Arizona. Only about 460 islands are larger than 2.6 sq km (1 sq mi), and about 1,000 are populated. 

Claimed for Spain by Magellan in 1521, the Philippines were ceded to the U.S. after the Spanish-American war (1898).  They became a self-governing commonwealth in 1935, but were occupied by Japan during World War II.

The Philippines attained independence from Japan on 4th July 1946 after WWII. The first president Ferdinand Marcos ruled the country for 21 years before a widespread popular rebellion forced him into exile in 1986. Fidel Ramos was elected president in 1992 and Joseph Estrada in 1998. Estrada was succeeded by his vice-president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, in January 2001 after his stormy impeachment trial on corruption charges broke down and widespread demonstrations led to his ouster. Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was elected for a six-year term to the presidency in 2004.

The Philippines is a democratic republic governed under a 1987 constitution. The government is based on a separation of powers between the executive presidency, a bicameral legislature and an independent judiciary.

The Executive: The head of state and chief executive of the Philippines is a president, elected by popular vote to a nonrenewable six-year term. The president may approve bills passed by Congress or exercise a veto, which can be overridden only by a two-thirds majority of Congress. The president nominates appointments for heads of government departments, or ministries, to form a cabinet. The Commission on Appointments, composed of 24 members of Congress, reviews and votes on the nominations. The approved cabinet oversees the day-to-day functions of government.

The vice president, who is also directly elected, may serve no more than two consecutive six-year terms. The president and vice president are elected by separate ballot and may belong to different political parties. The president has limited emergency powers and may place the republic under martial law for no more than 60 days.

Legislature: The Philippines has a bicameral (two-chamber) legislature called the Congress of the Philippines. The upper house, or Senate, has 24 members who are directly elected. The lower house, or House of Representatives, has a maximum of 250 members, 212 directly elected members representing districts and 24 sectoral party-list members. Senators serve six-year terms, limited to two consecutive terms and representatives serve three-year terms.

Judiciary: Based on US common law; the 1987 constitution contains a Bill of Rights, and provides for a judiciary with the Supreme Court at its apex. The Supreme Court has 15 justices appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Judicial and Bar council and serve until 70 years of age. Other judicial bodies include a court of appeals, Sandigan-bayan (special court for hearing corruption cases of government officials), and municipal courts.

For administrative purposes the Philippines is divided into regions, provinces, and chartered cities. Philippine provinces are subdivided into cities and municipalities. Unlike chartered cities, which are accountable to the national government, cities and municipalities are responsible to the government of the surrounding province. Each provincial city or municipality is headed by an elected mayor.

The smallest unit of local government is called the barangay. In rural areas the barangay is a village, and in urban areas it is a neighborhood. Each city or municipality contains numerous barangays, and there are thousands of barangays in the Philippines. Each barangay is administered by a chief executive and a community council, whose members are elected by the residents of the barangay.

The Philippines was less severely affected by the Asian financial crisis of 1998 than its neighbors, aided in part by annual remittances of $7-8 billion from overseas workers and no sustained run-up in asset prices or foreign borrowing prior to the crisis. From a 0.6% decline in 1998, GDP expanded by 2.4% in 1999, and 4.4% in 2000, but slowed to 3.2% in 2001 in the context of a global economic slowdown, an export slump, and political and security concerns. GDP growth accelerated to 4.3% in 2002, 4.7% in 2003, and about 6% in 2004, reflecting the continued resilience of the service sector, and improved exports and agricultural output.

The Philippines have the economy of a developing country. In 2004, the largest contributor to the GDP was services (53.2%) followed by industry (31.9%) and agriculture (14.8%). The preliminary results of the Philippine Labor Force Survey carried out in April 2005, by the National Statistics Office of the Philippines Government, and released on June 15, 2005 estimate that the number of persons in the labor force (15 years old and over), who are either employed or not employed, was 35.1 million. The labor force participation rate (LFPR) or the proportion of working age population in the labor force was 64.8 percent (April 2005). The number of employed persons in April 2005 was registered at 32.2 million, translating to an employment rate of 91.7 percent. Of the 32.2 million employed persons in April 2005, around 16.0 million (49.6%) were employed in the services sector, 11.0 million (34.1%) were in agriculture sector and the rest (16.3%) were in the industry sector. During this period, about 9.9 million (30.7%) were laborers and unskilled workers.

In April 2005 about half of the country’s employed workforce was wage and salary workers accounting for 50.6 percent of the total workforce. Own-account workers comprised 38.2 percent of the total employed while unpaid family workers comprised the remaining 11.2 percent. The number of unemployed persons in April 2005 was recorded at 2.9 million. This corresponds to an unemployment rate of 8.3 percent. Of the 2.9 million unemployed persons, 61.6 percent are males while 38.4 percent are females. About 49.0 percent were young unemployed, that is, those belonging to the ages of 15 to 24 years old. There were 28.3 percent who were 25 to 34 years old. The rest of the unemployed (30.0%) were 35 years and older. Of the total persons not in the labor force, females (71.0 %) outnumbered males (29.0%).

The United Nations Development Program estimated in 2003 that 14.6% of the population lived in poverty (under $1 a day and 46.4% of the population lived under $2 a day, near poverty). According to the 2003 Family Income and Expenditure Survey, the richest 30 percent of families earned 66.3 percent of national income, while the poorest 30 percent received approximately 8 percent. Approximately 40 percent of the population lived beneath the poverty threshold of US $365 per year in 2004. Poverty is more severe in rural areas, with an estimated 49 percent of the rural population unable to meet basic needs.  This is double the Thailand poverty rate.

The World Bank estimated that in 2000, the female population in the Philippines was 49.6% of the total population; female labor force participation (as % of total labor force) was 38% and female unemployment rate was 9.9% (slightly lower than the overall unemployment rate of 10.1%). According to UNDP data, between 1995 and 2002 female employment (as % of female labor force) was 25% in agriculture; 12% in mfg?? and 63% in services. In 2003, the Adult Literacy Rate (percentage of those aged 15 and above) was 92.6% and female Adult Literacy Rate was 92.7%.  In the school year 2002/03, the combined gross enrollment ratio for primary, secondary and tertiary level schools was slightly higher among females (83%) than males (80%).

Political participation of women has increased over the past decade, more than in most developing countries. The percentage of seats held in the lower house or single house by women increased by 8.8 percentage points between 1990 and 2004 from 9.9% to 17.8%. 12.5% of seats in the upper house or Senate were held by women in 2004.

A variety of national executive orders and laws provide for the welfare and protection of children. The Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) is the focal coordinating agency of the Philippine Government for children’s concerns. Created through Presidential Decree No. 603 (Child and Youth Welfare Code), the CWC is responsible for coordinating and monitoring the implementation of all laws, programs and services for children, as well as ensuring that these are implemented within the code and the Philippine National Strategic Framework for Plan Development for Children, 2000-2025 or Child 21.

The Philippine Strategic Framework for Plan Development for Children or Child 21 is a strategic framework that guides stakeholders in planning programs and interventions that promote and safeguard the rights of Filipino children in the 21st century. The framework weaves child rights (survival, development, protection and participation) with the child's life cycle. It advocates not only for a more focused targeting for children but also for interfacing critical interventions at the various stages of a child's development. It is considered to be both an important policy development and policy innovation in the last decade.

As a strategic framework, it is not meant to be a comprehensive and detailed plan. Rather, it paints in broad strokes a vision for the quality of life of Filipino children in 2025. It is a road map for the national government as well as for local government units, private initiatives and non-governmental organizations in setting priorities for action and in allocating and utilizing resources to promote the rights of Filipino children.

Child 21 presents a shared vision for the Filipino child, crafted from the inputs of all stakeholders in the development planning process. It aims to synchronize family, community, and national efforts towards the full realization of the rights of children by 2025.

The Plan presents strategic and programmatic frameworks that include cross-sectoral strategies, as well as individual sectoral program goals and strategies. The major goals of every program (health, education, protection and participation) are outlined. These are the road signs or milestones set forth for the medium and long term periods, based on the development stages and evolving capacities of the child (from the prenatal to adolescence period).

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Government Agencies

• The Department of Education is the main government body responsible for developing and implementing all education-related policies and programs. Its mission is to provide quality basic education that is equitably accessible to all and lay the foundation for life-long learning and service for the common good.

• The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) which  was formed in 1987 with the re-organization of the Ministry of Social Services and Development and its renaming as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Five program bureaus were created under the DSWD:

• Bureau of Child and Youth Welfare which ensures the care and protection of abandoned, neglected, abused or exploited children, and youth, delinquents, offenders, the disturbed, street children, victims of prostitution and others, for social adjustment and economic self-sufficiency.

• Bureau of Emergency Assistance which takes care of the relief and rehabilitation of victims of natural calamities and social disorganization and cultural communities and other distressed and displaced persons.

• Bureau of Disabled Persons Welfare which implements programs and services for the prevention and rehabilitation of the physically, mentally and socially disabled persons.

• Bureau of Family and Community Welfare which provides assistance to socially disadvantaged families and communities including family planning, planning outreach programs to develop their capability in defining needs and formulating solutions as well as setting up viable community structures which bring about desired social changes.

• Bureau of Women’s Welfare which promotes women’s welfare, with specific attention to the prevention or eradication of exploitations of women in any form, such as but not limited to prostitution and illegal recruitment; as well as the promotion of skills for employment and self-actualization.

• Department of Health is responsible for all health-related policies and programs. It also collects and maintains health-related statistical  information.

• National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women composed of 10 government officials and 13 NGO leaders appointed by the President, act  as an oversight body whose goal is to press for effective implementation of programs benefiting women.

• The Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) is the apex agency for children's protection, welfare and development in the Philippines. [Government of Philippines Websites]

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Non-Government Agencies

Neither the term 'third sector' nor 'non-profit sector' is widely used in the Philippines. The term Civil society, in the Philippines, refers to the whole range of non-state, non-profit organizations and groups, including socio-civic organizations, professional organizations, academe, media, churches, people's organizations (POs), non-governmental development organizations (NGOs), and cooperatives. 

POs are membership-based organizations formed largely on a voluntary basis (occasionally having full-time staff) function as community-sector, or issue-based primary groups at the grassroots (e.g. trade unions, environmental advocacy groups, peasant groups, etc.). NGOs, on the other hand, are intermediate agencies and institutions that tend to operate with a full-time staff complement and provide a wide-range of services to primary organizations. Cooperatives in the Philippines have a dual nature. Primary cooperatives are membership-based and characterized more as POs, while secondary and tertiary cooperatives (regional or national federations providing support services to their primary members) are considered NGOs. In addition, there are business and professional associations, schools, hospitals and welfare societies.

There are two characteristics of non-profits in the Philippines that may distinguish this community from others in Asia.

One, many non-profits have an advocacy and lobbying component as part of their services, and in most of the non-profit categories, there is at least one group whose main work is advocacy and lobbying. Because of the fairly open policy environment in the country since 1986, non-profits undertake lobbying work in many levels (national government and local governments), and arenas (executive and legislative). In many instances, these organizations have 'won' policy successes.

Two, there are numerous professional organizations that exist in most non-profit categories. In most cases, the associations are established to foster unity and cooperation and to work for the development and upgrading of the profession and the welfare of its members. Others are formed for advocacy purposes so as to improve public recognition and support of their professions.

Estimates of the number of civil society organizations vary-from 60,000 to a high of almost 96,000 registered non-profit, non-stock corporations; apart from these are the 35,000 cooperatives registered with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA). The figures for the registered organizations include the whole range of civic organizations, business/professional and labor associations, and religious organizations, most of which can hardly be considered as strictly development-oriented, let alone active. There are also an undetermined number of unregistered organizations.

There are 122 NGOs exclusively involved in delivering services to children. A major organization in the category is: the ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. (AFI) delivering services to children. There are also Church organizations and other private foundations running orphanage in close cooperation with government agencies.

Only a few development NGOs undertake programs and projects related to youth services and youth welfare, although numerous social welfare non-profit organizations implement small activities for youth. National Council of Social Development Foundation of the Philippines, Inc. is a peak body in the sector.

Apart from a few church-based organizations, there are not many NGOs rendering family welfare services. Some NGOs with services to family also cater to children and youth. Salidumay: Women's Voices Weaving is an online community of various women's groups. [Philanthropy and the Third Sector in Asia, 2005]

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The Filipino populations are primarily descendents of the Malayan people who migrated to the islands thousands of years ago. During the past several centuries, a significant number of people have migrated from China. Some people of Spanish descent settled in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period (1565-1898). The term Filipino originally described a person of Spanish descent born in the Philippines. In the 19th century it began to refer to the Christianized Malays who constituted the majority of the population. Although the term remains closely associated with this group, it also describes any citizen of the Philippines.

The Philippines had a population of 65,036,621 in 1990. The estimated population in July 2005 was 87,857,473. The Philippines has experienced declines in fertility, mortality, and natural increase since the inception of the government’s formal population program in 1969. But improvements in health and vital rates have not been as rapid as some might have expected. The mean number of children born to a Filipino woman during her reproductive years (the total fertility rate, or TFR) fell from 5.8 in 1970 to 4.1 in 1990 and to an estimated 3.16 children in 2005, still a high rate.   Life expectancy at birth (both sexes combined) rose from 55.7 to 64.3 years over the 1970-1990 period and is presently estimated to be about 69.91 years (2005). Thailand, by contrast, has a TFR of 1.89.  The OECD life expectancy currently is 74.7 for men and 80.6 for women at birth.

The population is growing by about 2 percent a year (the population growth rate in 2005 was 1.84 percent), giving the Philippines one of the world’s highest population-growth rates. The high birthrate contributes to a predominantly young population with a median age of 22.27 years (Thailand, for contrast, has a median of 30.5). In 2005 about 35.4 percent of the population was between the ages of 0-14 (Thailand 24 percent), 60.6 percent- between 15 years and 64 years, and 4 percent- 65 years and above. The total dependency ratio was 68.5% in 2000.

The average population density is 295 persons per sq km (763 per sq mi). However, the distribution of the population is uneven; some areas are virtually uninhabited, while others are densely populated. The percentage of the population living in rural areas has steadily declined in recent decades. It decreased from 68 percent in 1970 to 57 percent in 1990. By 2002 urban dwellers outnumbered rural residents, with only 60.2% of the population living in urban areas, a rate estimated to increase to 69.2% by 2015.

Manila is the capital of the Philippines and the country’s chief port, main commercial and cultural center, and largest city. Other important cities include Quezon City, which is part of the Manila metropolitan area, and served as the country’s capital from 1948 to 1976; Davao, a provincial capital and a seaport; Cebu, a seaport and the trade center for a farming and coal-mining region; and Zamboanga, also a seaport.

The Filipino population is generally divided along linguistic, geographic, and religious lines. Different linguistic groups developed as a result of the original settlement patterns. As the Malayan peoples spread throughout the archipelago, they dispersed into separate groups that each developed a distinct vernacular, or regional language.

The primary religious groups are Christians and Muslims. Christian Filipinos are the largest and most politically powerful group in the Philippines. They live primarily in lowland areas, specifically coastal areas and inland plains. They speak many different regional languages and dialects and are categorized into ethnolinguistic groups. Intermarriage and internal migration have helped to reduce language barriers over the years. Muslim Filipinos, also known as Moros or Moro Muslims, constitute the second largest group with a common cultural identity, although there are many linguistic and cultural differences among them. The Moros are of Malayan or Indonesian descent and comprise ten major ethnolinguistic groups.

The upland tribal groups are the third largest cultural group in the Philippines. The islands include more than 100 upland tribes, ranging in size from 100,000 to fewer than several hundred members. The members of the Aeta and Agta tribes are considered to be the indigenous people of the Philippines. They are descendents of perhaps the first humans who settled the islands during prehistoric times, before the Malayan migrations. They are commonly known as Negritos (a term assigned to them during the Spanish colonial period) and are one of the world’s few remaining Pygmy people, who are characterized by shorter-than-average height. Their communities are located mainly on northeastern Luzon. Although most of them were absorbed into the Malay population through intermarriage, some retreated to the mountains as the Malayan settlers increased in number. Those who retreated retained a hunting-and-gathering way of life augmented by a type of nomadic farming known as slash-and-burn agriculture, whereby they created temporary crop fields by clearing and burning small areas of forest. Other upland peoples of Malayan descent followed a similar settlement pattern. Through centuries of relative isolation, these groups have preserved their traditional ways of life and distinct cultures. They are engaged in subsistence hunting, fishing, and farming. Most maintain indigenous belief systems based on animism (the worship of nature deities and other spirits).

People of Chinese descent comprise the largest non-Malay group, making up about 1 percent of the population. Chinese people have settled in the Philippines for centuries. They originally came as traders, and during the colonial period they began to form an important merchant class. They formed the first Filipino elite during the colonial period, and today they continue to form an economically and politically important minority.

In 2000, the ethnic composition of the Filipino population consisted of - Tagalog (28.1%), Cebuano (13.1%), Llocano (9%), Bisaya/Binisaya (7.6%), Hiligaynon Ilonggo (7.5%), Bikol (6%), Waray (3.4%), and other (25.3%).

The Philippines has the only predominantly Christian population in Asia, reflecting Spain’s colonization of the islands in the 16th century. In 2000, the population consisted of Roman Catholic (80.9%), Evangelical (2.8%), Iglesia ni Kristo (2.3%), Aglipayan (2%), other Christian (4.5%), Muslim (5%), other (1.8%), unspecified (0.6%), and none (0.1%).

More than 80 indigenous languages and dialects are spoken in the Philippines. These languages and dialects belong to the Malayo-Polynesian group of the Austronesian language family. The most widely spoken are Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon, Bicol, Waray-Waray, Pampangan, Pangasinan, and Maranao. English and Filipino are the official languages.

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Social Protection

The Social Security System (SSS) is a publicly managed pension institution (since 1959)responsible for providing social protection to all private sector workers in the Philippines. The Social Security Law provides that coverage in the SSS is compulsory for  all employees under 60 years of age. This law defines an employee as any person who performs services for an employer and who receives compensation for such services, where there is an employer-employee relationship. Self-employed young persons can also be SSS members.

The mandatory social security program administered by the SSS basically provides financial benefits to qualified members to cover real life contingencies such as retirement, disability, death, maternity, sickness and employment-related injury that may result in income loss or financial burden.

In addition to the statutory pension, the SSS administers the Employees Compensation (EC) Program for private sector workers. The EC benefits are in the form of pensions and/or medical services.

Upon the death of an SSS pensioner, his primary beneficiaries as of the date of retirement are entitled to continue receiving his pension. If a retirement pensioner dies within sixty months from the start of his monthly pension and is not survived by primary beneficiaries, his secondary beneficiaries are entitled to a lump sum benefit equivalent to the total amount of contributions paid by the member and his employer, plus interest.

Disability Benefit       

An SSS member who suffers partial permanent or total permanent disability is eligible to receive a monthly pension if he has contributed at least 36 monthly contributions. If the member has less than the required number of contributions, heshe ? will receive a one-time lumpsum payment equivalent to the monthly pension multiplied by the number of monthly contributions paid to SSS or the monthly pension times 12, whichever is higher. The minimum disability pension is set at P1,000.

Upon the death of a totally disabled pensioner, his primary beneficiary as of the date of disability shall be entitled to receive 100% of the monthly pension. If a totally disabled pensioner dies within sixty months from the start of his monthly pension and is not survived by primary beneficiaries, his secondary beneficiaries are entitled to a lump sum benefit equivalent to the difference of 60 times the monthly pension and the total monthly pensions paid by the SSS.

Death Benefit

The death of an SSS member who has paid at least 36 monthly contributions entitles his primary beneficiaries to a monthly pension. Beneficiaries of SSS members with less than 36 contributions are entitled to a lump sum benefit.

Dependent's Allowance

Upon a member's retirement, permanent disability and death, up to five minor dependent children shall receive a dependent's pension equivalent to P250 or 10% of the member's monthly pension, whichever is higher. The dependent's pension stops only when any of the following occurs: (1) the child reaches 21 years old, (2) the child gets married, (3) the child becomes employed and earns at least P300 a day, or (4) the child dies.

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Child, Youth and Family Policy Regimes

Maternity Benefits

Every pregnant woman in the private sector, whether married or unmarried is entitled to maternity leave of sixty (60) days in case of normal delivery, abortion or miscarriage, or seventy-eight (78) days in case of caesarian section delivery with benefits equivalent to one hundred percent (100%) of the average daily salary credit of the employee as defined under the Social Security Law.        

To be entitled to the maternity benefits, a woman should be an SSS member employed at the time of delivery, miscarriage or abortion; she must have given the required notification to the SSS through her employer; and her employer must have paid at least three months of maternity contributions within the twelve-month period immediately before the date of contingency.

Other than private sector employees, permanent or provisional house helpers and self-employed persons earning 1,000 pesos (US$17.8) or more in monthly income are covered by the Social Security Program.

Paternity leave is granted to all married male employees in the private sector, regardless of employment status, (e.g. probationary, regular, contractual, project-based) the purpose of which is to allow the husband to lend support to his wife during her period of recovery and/or in the nursing of her newborn child. The leave is for seven (7) days, with full pay, consisting of basic salary and mandatory allowances fixed by the Regional Wage Board, if any, provided that his pay shall not be less than the mandated minimum wage.

Paternity leave may be taken after the delivery, without prejudice to an employer's policy of allowing the employee to take-up the benefit before or during the delivery, provided that the total number of days shall not be more than seven (7) days for each covered delivery.

The employer advances the maternity leave benefit to the qualified employee in full or in two equal installments, the first to be made upon receipt of maternity leave application and the second not later than 30-days after payment of the first installment. Upon receipt of satisfactory proof of such payment, the SSS reimburses the employer after the contingency for the amount of maternity benefit legally advanced to the employee.

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Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC)

Like many developing countries, the Philippines government has also come to recognize the effectiveness of early childhood education in offsetting primary school problems such as a high rate  of class repetition, early dropout rates, poor learning, as well as poor health of youths and adults. In 1971, the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) issued a policy document encouraging the school division to establish public preschool classes whenever possible. Since that time, public preschools have been provided, adding to the many private preschools already in existence. Unfortunately, there are no national data on coverage and enrollment.

In January 1995, a survey was conducted to assess the preschools implemented by DECS. One of the conclusions of the survey was that Government could not afford to provide preschools in all parts of the country. Thus, in March 1995, DECS issued a statement on early childhood education which affirmed the importance of preschool but stated that preschools were to be developed by the community to provide early childhood development experiences for 4 to 6 year old children before they entered Grade 1. In addition to community-based pre-schools, the Department of Social Welfare and Development operates day care centers for 3 to 5 year old children. However, it is generally agreed that the quality of the day care centers is low. In effect, there are two parallel systems of ECEC for 3 to 5 year olds.

In 1999, the Philippine Government launched a five-year Early Child Development (ECD) Project to attain the country’s human development goals and to reduce poverty; as a strategy to meet the government’s commitment to the international Convention on the Rights of Children; and as a pilot for testing ECD structures and delivery systems. ECD is part of a broader program to promote the development of Filipino children and to address the great risks that children from poor and disadvantaged families face.

In 2002, the government institutionalized the program by legislating the Early Child Care and Development (ECCD) Act,which established governance structures and delivery systems for children ages 0–6 years. It created the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) as the highest policymaking body for children’s concerns.

The Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) is the primary Philippine government agency mandated, among others, to coordinate programs and interventions among government and non-government institutions that have a stake in the welfare and development of Filipino children. The CWC serves as the coordinating council to link agencies with programs and services for children. Its board members include the Departments of Health, Education, Social Welfare & Development, Interior & Local Government, Labor & Employment, Justice, and Agriculture, National Nutrition Council, National Economic Development Authority, CWC and three private individuals, one of whom is a youth. It also has an existing functional network with non-government organizations focused on children. To respond more readily and strategically on the emerging issues that inhibit the Filipino children from fully enjoying their rights, the Council for the Welfare of Children coordinates Task Forces (TFs) and Sub-Task Forces (STFs). Specifically, the Council has a Task Force on Children in Need of Special Protection (TF-CNSP), which is further divided into sub-task forces such as the sub-task force on children in conflict with the law and the sub-task force against commercial sexual exploitation of  children.      

The ECCD program’s overarching goal is to maximize the survival and developmental potential of children, particularly those most vulnerable and disadvantaged. It aims to minimize the health risks to very young children; to contribute to the knowledge of parents and the community about child development and encourage their active involvement; to advocate for child-friendly policy and legislation; to improve the ability and attitude of child-related service providers; and to mobilize resources and establish viable financing mechanisms for ECCD projects. The ECCD program set specific quantitative goals, such as decreasing the child mortality rate and increasing the proportion of children immunized. The program uses health, nutrition, early education, and social services programs that provide for the basic needs of young children.

It uses a multitude of instruments, among them a national child surveillance and referral system; investments in essential, child-focused services for parents, caregivers, and service providers; expanded community participation and local ownership to ensure sustainability; and the establishment of ECCD Coordinating Councils at all levels of government to monitor implementation.

The program is an interdepartmental partnership of many national agencies. Each has been assigned functions; representatives are members of a national ECCD Coordinating Council. The program recognized the need for a full partnership with local government units (LGUs) and also with nongovernmental organizations. The program components are as follows: a) Service delivery provides support for provincial local government units (LGUs), which includes an expanded program of immunizations , an integrated management of child illness package, a  malnutrition prevention and control package, a parent effectiveness service package, and a Grade 1 Early Child Experience(ECE)/ Early Child Development (ECD) package. This component also finances facilities for municipal/city LGUs who wish to invest in upgrading of their ECD services. b) Support to service delivery supports the LGUs in implementing their investment packages in the areas of communications, planning, targeting, management information system, training, human resource development, and institutional development. c) Research and development (R&D)  finances R&D activities needed to support effective ECD program implementation, including initial piloting of new field-level technical interventions. 

National agencies provide counterpart funding for the establishment and expansion of ECCD programs in poor and disadvantaged communities. The ECCD Act explicitly allows resource mobilization from intergovernmental donors and financial institutions for the support of poor areas.           

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Child Education

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Child Health

The Republic Act No. 7875 enacted in April 1995 instituted a National Health Insurance Program for all Filipinos and establishing the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation for the purpose. The act seeks to:

(a) provide all citizens of the Philippines with the mechanism to gain financial access to health services;
(b) create the National Health Insurance Program to serve as the means to help the people pay for health care services;
(c) prioritize and accelerate the provision of health services to all Filipinos, especially that segment of the population who cannot afford such services; and
(d) establish the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation that will administer the Program at central and local levels.

 In 2002, the total expenditure on health was 2.9% of the GDP, down from 3.3% in 2001. Of this, government expenditure on health (as % of total expenditure on health) was 39% and private expenditure was 61%. (OECD countries spend 8.5 percent of GDP, with government providing 70-80 percent on average. In the U.S. health expenditures constitute 15 percent of GDP; and of that amount, 44 percent is spent by government.)  The majority (77.7%) of the private expenditure on health came from out-of-pocket expenses of patients in 2002. This indicates a reliance on private funding that perpetuates inequity of health care access and health care goals.

As of year 2002, the coverage of the National Health Insurance Program among the total population stood at 49%,not unusual for the developing world, but low for the industrialized countries. Increase in enrollment and benefits to members have steadily grown since its inception. Although much remains to be done in shifting the burden of health financing to health insurance, some slight improvements have been achieved in this area. The share of health insurance in health spending has increased from 7.1% in 2000 to 7.8% in 2001.

According to government reports in 2004, 68.3 percent of children were well nourished, and 64 percent were fully immunized. The child mortality rate was 48 out of 1,000 children under age 5. In 2000, an NGO estimated that 30 to 40 percent of preschool children in the five-province Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao suffered from malnutrition. According to the latest UNICEF data, at the end of 2001, nationwide 30.6 percent of children under age 5 were moderately or severely underweight.

The Infant Mortality Rate decreased from 60 deaths per 1000 live births in 1970 to 30 deaths per 1000 live births in 2003, a rate currently achieved by China, for example. The rate for Mexico for 2002 was 21.4, but for Portugal it was 5. Under-five mortality rate also decreased during this period from 90 deaths per 1000 live births to 42 deaths per 1000 live births. In 2000, the Maternal Mortality Ratio (adjusted) was 200 deaths per 100,000 live births.

In 2002 there were 1,738 hospitals (661- government and 1,077- private) in Philippines. Though the number has remained unchanged since 1996, the proportion of government hospitals has increased (from 600 in 1996 to 661 in 2002) and the number of private hospitals has decreased. In 2002,  the number of local health stations also decreased.

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Special Groups of Children

Child Labor

The law prohibits the employment of children under the age of 15, except under the direct and sole responsibility of parents or guardians, or in cases in which employment in cinema, theater, radio, or television is essential to the integrity of the production. The law allows employment of those between the ages of 15 and 18 for such hours and periods of the day as are determined by the Secretary of Labor but forbids the employment of persons under 18 years of age in hazardous or dangerous work. However, child labor remains a problem, and a significant number of children are employed in the informal sector of the urban economy or as unpaid family workers in rural areas--some as bonded laborers.

The most recent government survey reported approximately 3.7 million working children, approximately 2.4 million of whom were exposed to hazardous working environments, such as quarries and mines, docksides, and fishing boats. The legal minimum age for employment as a domestic worker is 15; however, an estimated 3.7 million children 17 years of age or younger, including many under 15, were so employed in 2004, compared with 4 million children reported in 2003. Apart from children in labor situations, the Government estimated in 2004 that there were at least 22,000 street children nationwide, although some NGOs believed the number to be much higher. Welfare officials believe that the number increased as a result of widespread unemployment in rural areas. Many street children are abandoned and engaged in scavenging or begging.

Most child labor occurs in the informal economy, often in family settings, and the Government rarely seeks to prosecute a poor family because it had a working child. Nevertheless, the Government, in coordination with a number of domestic NGOs and international organizations, implements programs to develop other, safer options for children, return them to school, and offer families viable economic alternatives to child labor. Although the Government has made attempts to devote more resources to child labor programs, resources remained inadequate.

The Government and NGOs implemented programs to prevent the engagement of children in exploitative child labor. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) works with domestic NGOs to educate communities about  child labor and provide counseling and other activities for children. DOLE and the Department of Education works with NGOs, UNICEF, and the ILO International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor to assist children to return to school. The Government also imposes fines and instituted criminal prosecutions for child labor violations in the formal sector, such as in manufacturing. DOLE continued its efforts to rescue exploited child workers, rescuing 146 minors in 58 different operations between January and September, 2004. The Employers Confederation of the Philippines pursues an active and highly visible program against child labor.

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Child Trafficking/Prostitution

Another objective of the current Policy of Defense and Democratic Security is to eliminate illicit crops.  The two main strategies used to reach this objective are to the spraying of herbicides and the substitution of crops.  Within the substitution of crops strategy the two main programs are the “Gamekeeper families” (Familias Guardabosques) and the “Productive Projects” programs.  The idea of these programs is to provide an alternative to these families so that they make a legal use of the land from they can derive an adequate amount of income.  The “Gamekeeper families” provides a cash transfer and technical support to families that live in areas of high risk of illicit crops.  This support is temporary and is supposedly to help the family reach a level of economic sustainability from the new activity.  As of December of 2005 there were 33,137 beneficiary families of this program (Departamento Nacional de Planeación, 2005b). The “Productive Projects” program, as it name indicates, are productive projects in the agricultural sector that are co-financed by the government, the private sector and the beneficiary families.  The objective for 2003-2006 is to enroll 27,000 peasant families in these projects.  As of November of 2005, this program benefited a total of 6,860 families (Departamento Nacional de Planeación, 2005b).

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Children with HIV/AIDS

The first case of HIV was reported in 1984. The epidemic in the Philippines has been classified as ‘low level’ with a prevalence rate of less than 0.1% among adults. It is estimated that 9,000 people, of which 2000 were women, were living with HIV/AIDS in the Philippines by the end of 2003. Less than 500 deaths were due to AIDS by the end of 2003.      

While the Philippines has successfully kept the epidemic in check, an active sex industry and a population of injecting drug users are potential threats for the spread of the disease. The low prevalence in Philippines has been attributed to a number of factors including: circumcision, which reduces the risk of transmission; a culture of sexual conservatism; geography- no land borders; relatively low number of foreign tourists; low levels of intravenous drug use although drugs do pose a problem.

The Philippine National AIDS Council (PNAC) is the country’s highest policy making and directing body on HIV/AIDS. The council members represent 17 national government agencies including local governments and the two houses of Congress, 7 non-governmental organisations and an association of people living with HIV/AIDS.

The Philippine National AIDS Council (PNAC) is the country’s lead agency in the fight against HIV/AIDS. It coordinates and oversees programs and activities that prevent and control HIV/AIDS in the Philippines.

The centre-piece of the national response to HIV/AIDS is the enactment of the Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998 (Republic Act 8504), a model for HIV/AIDS related human rights legislation. The entire process - the years of consultations, advocacy and lobbying, has been hailed as a ‘best practice.’ [UNDP]

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Children in Armed Conflict

Children are targeted for recruitment as combatants and noncombatants by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF); the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG); and the New People’s Army (NPA), terrorist organizations involved in the Muslim and Communist insurgency facing the country. All organizations involved in the insurgency continue to recruit and use children both as soldiers and non-combatants.

Recruitment of children is due to a number of factors – psychological; social tension; propaganda; and forced recruitment or abduction. Armed groups target the emotional, psychological, mental, or physical vulnerabilities of the children, as well as the situations in their families or communities.  Human Rights Watch observes that children most likely to be recruited are: (1) poor; (2) separated from their families; (3) displaced from their homes; (4) living in a combat zone; and (5) with limited access to education. They also come from communities, which have inadequate social services.

The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) reported that children as young as 10 years were recruited by the MILF. It added that these children were used as reserve forces and confined in camps for their education. MILF policy, reportedly, allows the training of children as young as 12 years old in their madrashas (religious schools). Other estimates indicate that 300 to 500 women undergo training at one camp between the ages of 10 to 16 years. Other than for religious reasons, children are known to join the MILF because they are promised a monthly salary, training and firearms. In most cases, children are recruited into the MILF through their relatives who are part of the organization.

The ASG uses Islamic religion to draw minors into the movement. The recruitment is conducted during religious festivities. The recruits, mostly high school students, are promised a salary after training, firearms, and even scholarship abroad. There have been reports that ASG not only recruits children for combat, but uses them as human shields, hostages, couriers and spies.       

“Anyone who is physically fit, regardless of age, sex, race, nationality or religion and has the capacity to fight and  ready to participate in a protracted armed struggle against the reactionary state power, may be a member of a fighting unit of the New Peoples Army.” – Point 1 of Principle III of the Basic Rules of the NPA (1969)

In the 1990s, when NPA suffered a dramatic setback in membership, an intense recruitment of children began. As of October 2000, at least 86 child combatants, between 14 and 17 had been captured or surrendered to the government since 1999, by June 2000, the military documented the recruitment of some 123 minors. The most celebrated case was the capture of a 16-year old in an encounter with rebels in April 1999.  This provided strong evidence of the NPA’s recruitment of children as combatants as a matter of policy.

According to military estimates, about 3 percent of the 9,000 to 10,000 regular fighters are children. In addition, around 20 to 25 percent of the new NPA recruits are children.  An official from the Office of the Presidential Advisor on the Peace Process estimated that children made up as much as 19 percent of the NPA's fighting force. The Council for Welfare of Children, in a July 2004 report, estimated that children constituted some 13-18 percent of the armed rebel combatants. These reports indicate that a large portion of the NPA’s fighting force and new recruits are children. Children recruited are mostly from poor families belonging to farming families or school students. [Philippines Department of Labor, US Department of State]

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Note

* Research and Reported by Manita C. Rao

References

Philippines (2005); The CIA World Fact Book, Retrieved from the World Wide Web at http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/rp.html 

Philippines, Republic of, Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2005; Retrieved from the World Wide Web at http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761558570/Philippines.html#s1

Country Profile: Philippines (2002) ; The Economist.com; Retrieved from the World Wide Web at http://www.economist.com/countries/Philippines/index.cfm

UNDP; Philippines, Human Development Report (2003); United Nations Development Program; Retrieved from the World Wide Web at http://hdr.undp.org/statistics/data/cty/cty_f_PHL.html

Philippines Labor Force Survey: Preliminary Results April 2005; Income and Employment Statistics Division, Household Statistics Department, National Statistics Office; Manila; Philippines; Retrieved from the World Wide Web at http://www.census.gov.ph/data/pressrelease/2005/lf0502tx.html

Philippines: Country Report on Human Rights (2004); Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor; US Department of State; Washington D.C. ; Retrieved from the World Wide Web at http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41657.htm

Philippines at a Glance (2005); YOUANDAIDS : The HIV/AIDS Portal for Asia Pacific; United Nations Development Program; Retrieved from the World Wide Web at here.

Population Trends: Philippines (1996); Bureau of Census, Economics and Statistics Administration, US Department of Commerce; Retrieved from the World Wide Web at http://www.census.gov/ipc/prod/ppt92-11.pdf

Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Asian Emerging Markets (2003); ASrIA Report, October 2003; Retrieved from the World Wide Web at http://www.asria.org/publications/lib/country/philippines.pdf

Philippines: Third Sector Overview (2005); Philanthropy and the Third Sector in Asia and the Pacific; Retrieved from the World Wide Web at http://www.asianphilanthropy.org/countries/philippines/definition.html

Rights to Social Protection: The Philippines Social Security System Experience (2004); Social Security System Economic Research Department, Manila, Philippines; Retrieved from the World Wide Web at http://www.issa.int/pdf/initiative/reports/2Philippines.pdf

Makinano, Merliza (2002); Child Soldiers in Philippines; Featured Paper by International Labor Affairs Service; Department of Labor and Employment; Retrieved from the World Wide Web at http://www.childprotection.org.ph/monthlyfeatures/mar2k2a.rtf

Heaver, Richard A. and Hunt, Joseph M. (1995); Improving Early Childhood Development: An Integrated Program for the Philippines; Directions in Development; A Collaborative Report by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank for the Government of the Republic of Philippines; Retrieved from the World Wide Web at here.