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THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLK 
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First Regular Session 
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OF THE PHILIPPINE 
S E N A T E  
S. No. 
introduced by Senator S. R. Osmeiia 111 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Philippines is a signatory of the United Nations Convention of the 
Child. Article 32 of this Convention provides: 
"The States have the obligation to protect children from 
engaging in work that constituted a threat to their health, education 
or development, to set minimum wages for employment and to 
regulate conditions of employment." 
The International Labor Organization, in its various conventions has also 
sought to protect the working child, establishing the minimum working age for 
children, and specifying the areas of work wherein a child may be employed. 
Amid the pressures of global price competition, many industries in 
developing countries are adopting the "beggar thy neighbor" approach, using 
child labor to bring down production costs of manufactured goods. Subjected to 
exploitative conditions, children are deprived of their basic right to nurturing, and 
opportunities for education. 
This bill seeks to reinforce the State's avowed policy and commitment to 
child welfare by prohibiting the importation of goods produced abroad with child 
labor. 
In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly 
sought. 
S E ~ G I O  OSMENA 111 
Senator 


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THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
First Regular Session 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
S E N A T E  
S. No. 
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Introduced by Senator S. R. Osmefia 111 
AN ACT 
PROHIBITING THE IMPORTATION OF GOODS PRODUCED ABROAD WITH 
CHILD LABOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared a policy of the 
State to recognize the right of children to assistance, including proper care and 
nutrition, and special protection from al forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, 
exploitation, and other conditions prejudicial to their development. 
SEC. 2. Definitions. - For the purposes of this Act, the following words 
and phrases shall have the following meanings: 
(I) “Manufactured article” - shall be treated as being a product of child 
labor if the article - - 
(a) 
(b) 
contains any part that was fabricated, assembled, or 
was fabricated, assembled, or processed in whole or part; 
processed, in whole part or in part; or 
(c) 
was mined, quarried, pumped, or otherwise extracted, by 
one or more children who engaged in the fabrication, assembly, 
processing, or extraction --- 
in exchange for remuneration (regardless to whom paid), 
subsistence, goods or services, or any combination of the 
foregoing; 
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ii) 
under circumstances tantamount to involuntary servitude; or 
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under exposure to toxic substances or working conditions otherwise 
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posing serious health hazards. 
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fifteen (I 
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(2) 
“Child” - means .an individual who has not attained the age of 
(3) 
“Effective identification period” - means with respect to a foreign 
industry or country, the period that - 
(a) 
begins on the date of the issue of the Official Gazette in which the 
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identification of the foreign industry or country is published; and 
(b) 
terminate on the date of that issue on the Official Gazette in which 
the revocation of the identification referred to in this act is 
published. 
“Entered” - means entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for 
(4) 
consumption, in the customs territory of the Philippines. 
(5) 
“Foreign industry” - includes any entity that produces a 
manufactured article in any possession of territory of a foreign country. 
(6) 
“Host country” - means any possession or territory of a foreign 
country that is administered separately for customs purposes and on which a 
foreign industry produces a manufactured article. 
(7) 
“Manufactured article” - means any good that is fabricated, 
assembled, or processes. The term also includes any mineral resources 
(including any mineral fuel ) that is entered in a crude state. Any mineral resource 
that at entry has been subjected to only-washing, crushing, grinding, powdering, 
levigation, sifting, screening, or concentration by flotation, magnetic separation, 
or other mechanical or physical processes shall be treated as having been 
processed for the purposes of this Act. 
SEC. 3. Identification of Foreign Industries and their Respective Hose 
Countries that Utilize Child Labor in Export of Goods. - (a) Identification of 
Industries and Host Countries. - The Secretary of Labor and Employment shall 
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undertake periodic reviews using all available information, including information 
made available by the International Labor Organization and 
human rights 
organizations (the first such review to be undertaken not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act), to identify any foreign industry and its 
country that - 
(I) 
(2) 
utilize child labor in the export of products; and 
has on a continuing basis exported products of child labor to the 
Philippines. 
(b) 
Petitioners Requesting Identification 
(I) Filing - Any person may file a petition with the Secretary of Labor 
and Employment requesting that a particular foreign industry and its host country 
be identified under subsection (a). The petition must set forth the allegations in 
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support of the request. 
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(2) 
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under subsection (a); and 
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Employment shall - - 
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(I) consult with the Philippine Trade Representative, the 
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Secretary of Foreign Affairs, the Secretary of Trade and Industry and 
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the Secretary of Finance regarding such action; 
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Action on receipt of petition - Not later than 90 days after receiving 
a petition under paragraph (I), 
the Secretary of Labor and Employment shall - - 
(A) decide whether or not the allegations in the petition warrant further 
action by him in regard to the foreign industry and its host country 
(B) notify the petitioner of the decision under subparagraph (b) and the 
facts and reasons supporting the decision. 
(C) Consultation and Comment - Prior to identifying a foreign industry and 
its host country under subsection (a), the Secretary of Labor and 
(2) 
publish notice in the Official Gazette that such an 
identification is being considered and inviting the submission with a 
reasonable time or written comment from the public; and 
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(3) 
take into account the information obtained under 
paragraphs (a) and (2). 
(d) 
Revocation of Identification - 
(I) In general - Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary of Labor and 
Employment may revoke the identification of any foreign industry and its host 
country under subsection (a) if information available to him indicates that such 
action is appropriate. 
(2) 
Report of Secretary of Labor and Employment - No revocation 
under paragraph (1) may take effect earlier than the 60th days after the date on 
which the Secretary of Labor and Employment submits to the Congress a written 
report - 
(a) 
stating that in his opinion, the foreign industry and host country 
concerned does not utilize child labor in the export of products; and 
stating the facts on which such opinion is base and any other 
reason why he considers the revocation appropriate. 
Procedure. - No revocation under paragraph (1) may take effect 
(b) 
(3) 
unless the Secretary of Labor and Employment - - 
publishes notice in the Official Gazette that such a revocation is 
under consideration and inviting the submission within a reasonable 
time of written comment from the public on the revocation; and 
takes into account the information received under subparagraph (A) 
before preparing the report required under paragraph (2). 
Publication - The Secretary of Labor and Employment shall - 
promptly publish in the Official Gazette 
(a) 
the name of each foreign industry and its host country 
identified under subsection (a); 
the text of the decision made under subsection (b) (2) (A) 
and a statement of the facts and reasons supporting the 
decision; and 
(b) 
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(c) 
the name of each foreign industry and its host country with 
respect to which an identification has been revoked under 
subsection (d); and 
(3) 
maintain a current list of all foreign industries and their respective 
host countries identified under subsection (a). 
SEC. 4. Prohibition of Entry. - (a) Prohibition - 
(I) In general - Except as provided in paragraph 2 of this Section, 
during the effective identification period for a foreign industry and its host country, 
the Secretary of Finance may not permit the entry of any manufactured article 
that is a product of that foreign industry. 
(2) 
Exception - Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the entry of a 
manufactured article --- 
(a) 
for which a certification that meets the requirements of subsection 
(b) is provided; 
(b) 
that is entered under any subheading (relating to personal 
exemptions of Section 105 (f) (9) and (h) of the Tariff and Customs 
Code of the Philippines; 
that was exported from the foreign industry and its host country and 
was en route to the Philippines before the first day of the effective 
identification period for such industry and its host country. 
Certification That Article is Not a Product of Child Labor 
Form and content - The Secretary of Finance shall prescribe the 
form and content of documentation, for submission in connection 
with the entry of a manufactured article, that satisfies the Secretary 
of Finance that the importer of the article has undertaken 
reasonable steps to ensure, to the extent practicable, that the 
article is not a produce of a child labor. 
Written evidence - The documentation required by the Secretary of 
Finance under paragraph (7) shall include written evidence that the 
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(c) 
(b ) 
(1) 
(2) 


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agreement setting further the terms and conditions of the 
acquisition of provision of the imported article includes the condition 
that the article not be a product of child labor. 
5. Penalties. - (a) Unlawful acts. - It is unlawful 
during the effective identification period applicable to a foreign 
industry and its host country, to attempt to enter any manufactured 
article that is a product of that industry if the entry is prohibited 
under Section 4(a) (1); or 
to violate any regulation prescribed under Section 6. 
SEC. 
6. 
Civil Penalty - Any person who commits any unlawful act set 
forth in subsection (a) is liable for a civil penalty of not to 
exceed Five million pesos (P5,000,000.00). 
Criminal Penalty - In addition to being liable for a civil 
penalty under subsection (b), any person who intentionally 
commits any unlawful act set forth in subsection (a) is, upon 
conviction, liable for a fine of not less than Five hundred 
thousand pesos (P500,OOO.OO) and not more than Five 
million pesos (P5,000,000.00) or imprisonment for one (1) 
year, or both. 
Construction - The violations set forth in subsection (a) shall 
be treated as violations of the customs laws for purposes of 
applying the enforcement provisions of the Tariff and 
Customs Code of the Philippines, including - 
the search, seizure and forfeiture provisions; 
Section 3601, 3602, 3603, 3604 relating to penalties for 
entry by fraud, gross negligence, or negligence; 
Section 351 3 relating to compensation to informers. 
Regulations. - The Secretary of Finance shall prescribe 
regulations that are necessary or appropriate to carry out this Act. 
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SEC. 7. 1 Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, letters 
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of instructions, letter of implementation, rules and regulations or part or parts 
thereof inconsisi!ent with any provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, modified, 
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superseded or amended accordingly. 
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SEC. 8. i Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days 
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afters its compldte publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) national 
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newspapers of deneral circulation, whichever comes earlier. 
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Approved, 
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