SURIGAO DEL NORTE — A government livelihood program is taking aim at one of the hardest realities facing vulnerable Filipino families: children being pushed into work because their households cannot make ends meet.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has provided a combined ₱3,375,180 in livelihood assistance to 114 parents and guardians of profiled child laborers in Surigao del Norte, giving families access to income-generating resources intended to keep children in school rather than at work.
The assistance was released under the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP), or Kabuhayan Program, integrated with the agency’s Child Labor Prevention and Elimination Program (CLPEP).
Unlike a simple cash payout, the assistance came in the form of business toolkits, equipment, machinery and initial inventories based on the livelihood activities selected by the beneficiaries.
Among the ventures supported were sari-sari stores, rice retailing, fruit vending, frozen-food and snack businesses, kakanin production, bread making, and fishing-related activities. Some beneficiaries from coastal communities received boat engines and fishing gear.
One beneficiary, Domingo Morgado, used the assistance to open a small sari-sari store. For families facing persistent financial pressure, the goal is bigger than establishing another microbusiness: it is to create a source of household income that can reduce the pressure on children to work.
Why the livelihood component matters
DOLE’s approach reflects a broader understanding of child labor: poverty can force families to depend on children’s earnings, making livelihood support for parents an important part of prevention.
A recent DOLE-led program in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur, for example, identified household financial difficulties, education expenses and parental abandonment among factors associated with child labor cases in the area. The June 2026 initiative provided assistance to 100 profiled child laborers and their families, combining livelihood support with education, health and other services.
DOLE Caraga has also previously used livelihood assistance to help parents of child laborers establish small enterprises. In Tandag City, 48 parents received ₱960,858 worth of livelihood assistance for ventures ranging from food businesses and frozen-goods retailing to fishing, barbering and small service enterprises.
The agency’s broader strategy is therefore not simply to remove children from work, but to address the economic conditions that can push them back into labor.
From child labor to the classroom
During the Surigao del Norte turnover, DOLE Caraga Regional Director Jason P. Balais stressed that the livelihood assets come with a responsibility: families are expected to use the opportunities to establish sustainable income while protecting their children’s right to education.
The turnover was held at the DOLE Dapa satellite office on Siargao Island, with Balais handing the master grant check to Rosa May Pantilo, representing the Hayanggabon Community Multipurpose Cooperative, which served as DOLE’s accredited co-partner for procurement and distribution.
The Surigao Norte initiative is part of a wider push in Caraga to combat child labor through livelihood, employment, education and community-based interventions.
In a separate 2026 program in Surigao del Sur, DOLE and partner organizations brought together government agencies, local officials, civil society groups and the International Labour Organization to provide services to profiled child laborers and their families. The initiative emphasized that children need opportunities to learn, play and develop safely, not simply earn money to help support their households.
The bigger challenge
The ₱3.37-million intervention is significant, but livelihood assistance alone cannot eliminate child labor.
Families still need stable markets, business support, access to education and other social-protection services for the income gains to last. DOLE’s own model increasingly combines livelihood assistance with programs such as TUPAD, skills training and community interventions.
For the 114 families in Surigao del Norte, however, the immediate objective is clear: build a household income strong enough that children do not have to become part of the family’s survival strategy.
The real measure of success will come later—not when the livelihood kits are distributed, but when those businesses remain viable and the children they were meant to protect can stay in school.
Leave a Reply