Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 6015

Introduced by CIBAC Party-List Representatives
Eduardo “Bro. Eddie” C. Villanueva and Domingo C. Rivera

AN ACT AMENDING SECTION 16 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7610, AS
AMENDED BY REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9231, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS
THE SPECIAL PROTECTION OF CHILDREN AGAINST CHILD
ABUSE, EXPLOITATION AND DISCRIMINATION ACT

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Every Filipino child has the right to be protected from economic exploitation and
from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with his or her
education, or to be harmful to his or her health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or
social development (Article 32 of Convention on the Rights of the Child).

Regrettably, the results of the 2011 Survey on Children conducted by the
Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that an estimated 2.1 million Filipino
children 5 to 17 years of age are engaged in child labor. Worse, those in hazardous
child labor was estimated at 2.0 million or 97.7 percent.?

The aforesaid study also revealed that across regions, Central Luzon (10.5%)
and Bicol Region (10.4%) had the largest share of the country's child labor population.
Large shares were also observed in Northern Mindanao (8.5%), CALABARZON
(8.3%) and Western Visayas (8.2%)?

* Estimated Number of Working Children 5 to 17 Years Old who Worked During the Past Week was 3.3 Millon (Final Results of
the 2011 Survey on Children). Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved from: htipsi/psa.gov phicontentestimated-number-
‘working-children-5-17-years-oldwho-worked-during-past-week-was-33-milion (date last accessed: July 15, 2019)

Pid.


Republic Act No. 7610 as amended by Republic Act No. 9231 provides for the
prohibition against worst forms of child labor and punishes employers for such
practices, namely: (a) all forms of slavery, as defined under the "Anti-Trafficking in
Persons Act of 2003”; (b) the use, procuring, offering or exposing of a child for
prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances; (c)
the use, procuring or offering of a child for illegal or illicit activities; and (d) work which,
by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is hazardous or is likely to
be harmful to the health, safety or morals of children.

Unfortunately, since the enactment of Republic Act No. 9231 in 2003,
prohibiting worst forms of child labor, child labor remains prevalent in the country.
Clearly, this situation shows that the penalties presently imposed are not sufficient to
deter the continued illegal employment of children.

Thus, this bill seeks to provide greater penalties for violations of Republic Act
No. 7610 as amended by Republic Act No. 9231 by imposing both imprisonment and
fine for every instance that a child is engaged in employment other than in the
instances permitted by law. This bill also proposes to raise the fines imposed on
employers who continue to engage in illegal child labor practices.

The Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022 aims to reduce cases of
child labor by 30 percent by the end of 2022.° For this reason, for the period 2017-
2022, the goal is to withdraw at least 630,000 children from child labor (DOLE
Administrative Order No. 142 series of 2018)

This measure seeks to make this goal a reality, and thus, the immediate
passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

a Ue

HON. EDUARDO “BRO. EDDIE” C. VILLANUEVA

MINGO’C} RIVERA

® Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 (Abridged Version). National Economic Development Authority. Retrieved from:
bttp:zivww.neda.gov phiwp-content/uploads/2017/12/Abridged-PDP-2017-2022_ Final.pdf (date last accessed on April 13, 2018),


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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. eos

Introduced by CIBAC Party-List Representatives
Eduardo “Bro. Eddie” C. Villanueva and Domingo C. Rivera

AN ACT AMENDING SECTION 16 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7610, AS
AMENDED BY REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9231, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS
THE SPECIAL PROTECTION OF CHILDREN AGAINST CHILD
ABUSE, EXPLOITATION AND DISCRIMINATION ACT

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Section 16 of Republic Act No. 7610, as amended by Republic Act No.
9231, otherwise known as Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse,
Exploitation and Discrimination Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

SECTION 16. Penal Provisions -

a) Any employer who violates Sections 12, 12-A, and Section 14 of this act, as
amended, shall be penalized by imprisonment of six (6) months and one (1)
day to six (6) years [or] AND a fine of [Fifty thousand (Php50,000.00) but not
more than Three hundred thousand pesos (Php300,000.00)] NOT LESS THAN
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND PESOS (Php150,000.00) for both
at the discretion of the court]

b)

Any person who violates the provision of Section 12-D of this act or the
employer of the subcontractor who employs, or the one who facilitates the
employment of a child in hazardous work, shall suffer the penalty of a fine of
not less than [One hundred thousand pesos (Php 100,000.00) but not more than
One million pesos (Php1,000,000.00)} THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND
PESOS (Php300,000.000) [or] AND imprisonment of not less than twelve (12)


years and one (1) day to twenty (20) years [or both such fine and imprisonment
at the discretion of the court]

XXX

SECTION 2. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within sixty (60) days from
the implementation of this Act, the Department of Labor and Employment, in
coordination with other agencies and relevant stakeholders, shall promulgate the rules
and regulations to implement the provisions of this Act.

SECTION 3. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules,
regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby
repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 4. Separability Clause. - If, for any reason, any section or provision of this
bill is declared unconstitutional or invalid, other sections or provisions hereof shall
remain in force.

SECTION 5. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen days after publication in
the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,