27/05/2026
๐๐๐๐ | ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ง๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐ฉ๐ซ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ญ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐๐จ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ , ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ข๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ฆโ Government agencies and private sector partners joined forces to provide livelihood assistance, emergency employment, educational support, and social services to vulnerable families during the Information and Service Caravan on Child Labor Prevention and Elimination Program, organized by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Surigao del Norte Field Office on May 14, 2026, at the Maradjaw Events Center.
The caravan highlighted a collective effort to address child labor not only through immediate assistance but by confronting the economic hardships that often force children into work at an early age.
The initiative directly benefited 50 profiled child laborers from various barangays in Surigao City, along with their parents and guardians, through a combination of livelihood opportunities, employment assistance, skills training, educational support, and welfare services.
For one 16-year-old beneficiary, the caravan represented hope beyond the assistance received.
โ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ญ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ถ๐ด ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ท๐ข๐ญ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ,โ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ. โ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ต ๐ข ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ข๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ช๐ต ๐ข๐ญ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ง๐ถ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ.โ
Mining companies and private organizations played a key role in the activity by donating grocery packages, school supplies, and financial support for the beneficiaries. Among the partners were Platinum Group Metals Corporation, Taganito HPAL Nickel Corporation, Taganito Mining Corporation, Hinatuan Mining Corporation, Pacific Nickel Philippines Inc., CTB Construction and Development Corporation, Charlz Construction Inc., Julz Gold Ore Mining, and CTS Household and Labor Services.
McDonaldโs Surigao also joined the initiative by facilitating games and interactive activities for the children, bringing moments of joy and normalcy to beneficiaries who have experienced the burden of labor at a young age.
While the children received immediate assistance, the program placed strong emphasis on helping families become economically stable to prevent child labor from recurring.
Twenty-nine parents of child laborers received salaries under DOLEโs Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program, amounting to โฑ6,825 each for 15 days of community work. Another 50 parents received Certificates of Guarantee for livelihood assistance under the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP).
Several government agencies also delivered frontline services during the caravan. The Department of Social Welfare and Development distributed ready-to-eat food packs and conducted Sustainable Livelihood Program orientation sessions, while the City Health Office provided vitamins and dental hygiene kits.
The Public Employment Skills and Development Office facilitated registration for various skills training opportunities for parents, while the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority conducted an on-the-spot squash ice cream-making demonstration to encourage small-scale livelihood ventures.
DOLE Surigao del Norte Provincial Head and Chief Labor and Employment Officer May C. Velonta said the activity demonstrates how collaboration among government agencies and private stakeholders can create more meaningful and sustainable interventions against child labor.
โ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ง๐ญ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ด ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ค๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ข๐ญ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ง๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต, ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฐ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ค๐ค๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ๐ท๐ช๐ค๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ง๐ถ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ,โ ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ.
The successful conduct of the caravan underscored the importance of sustained partnerships between government and the private sector in protecting childrenโs rights and addressing the root causes of child labor through community-based and family-centered interventions.
