# Street children in the Philippines

The phenomenon of street children in the Philippines was first attested in the 1980s. As of 2021 the number of street children in the Philippines is estimated at around 250,000.

## Defining Filipino street children

According to the "Stairway" foundation, there are three different categories of street children:
* Children on the streets make up approximately 75% of the street children in the Philippines. They work on the streets but do not live there. They generally have a home to return to after working, and some even continue to attend school while working long hours on the streets.
* Children of the street make their homes on the street. They make up 25%–30% of the street children in the Philippines. They often create a sort of family with their fellow street children. Some of them still have family ties, but may either rarely tend to them or view them negatively.
* Completely abandoned children have no family ties and are entirely on their own for physical and psychological survival. They make up approximately 5%–10% of the street children in the Philippines.

## Human rights

The Philippines ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on August 21, 1990. It also ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict on August 26, 2003, and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography on May 28, 2002.
The Philippines observes the annual commemoration of the International Day for Street Children on April 12.

## Problems facing street children
### Poverty

Children bear the brunt of poverty of affected Filipino families. Poverty, displacement due to armed conflict, and exposure to climatic and environmental impacts are key factors that lead to heightened vulnerability and increases in the number of street children. In 2015, 31.4% of children in the Philippines lived below the poverty line, with poverty rates for children in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao much higher at 63.1%, according to official government estimates.
Street children are more likely to live in poverty, be deprived of access to education and other social services, and experience social discrimination. They are also less likely to have of access to justice or legal status.

### Drugs

Some street children take drugs as often as once a day. A 1997 study estimated that up to 40% of street children had used drugs in the past. Other reports suggest that 66% to 85% of children had used inhalants, and 3% had used marijuana and methamphetamine (known locally as "shabu").

### Summary execution of street children

Many street children were in danger of summary execution during the Marcos government era. In 2005, a report found that 39 children in Davao City had been killed by vigilante groups since 2001, most after having been released from police detention cells.

### Child prostitution

Child prostitutes are used by foreign sex tourists and sexual predators, as well as local people. Some are used to film child pornography, which is rampant in the Philippines. Many street children are lured into prostitution as a means of survival, while others do it to earn money for their families. A variety of different factors contribute to the commercial sexual exploitation of children in the Philippines.
Rooted in poverty, as elsewhere, the problem of child prostitution in Angeles City was exacerbated in the 1980s by Clark Air Base, where bars employed children who ended up as sex workers for American soldiers. Street children are at particular risk because many of the 200 brothels in Angeles offer children for sex. According to 1996 statistics of the Philippine Resource Network, 60,000 of the 1.5 million street children in the Philippines were prostituted.

### HIV/AIDS and STDs

There is no HIV testing for children in the Philippines, but approximately 18% of the street children contract sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

## NGO responses

Various organizations have established charities and shelters, providing counseling, food, clothing and religious instruction in an attempt to help street children. These include Street Contact For Children, Subic Bay Children's Home, LifeChild, Spirit and Life Mission House, Tiwala Kids and Communities , Batang Pinangga Foundation, Inc (Cebu) Jireh Children's Home, He Cares Foundation, ANAK-Tnk Foundation, and the Tuloy Foundation, among others.

## Notable street children

* Darwin Ramos