EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
First Regular Session
SENATE
S. B. NO. 711
§3>caaK-
*19 
JUL 24 A 9 51
RECci . i
_ _ _ _
Introduced by SENATOR JOEL VILLANUEVA
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.1
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%).2
' Estimated Number of Working Children 5 to 17 Years Old who Worked During the Past Week was 3.3 Million (Final 
Results 
of 
the 
2011 
Survey 
on 
Children) 
Philippine 
Statistics 
Authority. 
Retrieved 
from:
https;//psa.gov ph/content/estimated-number-working-children-5-17-years-old-who-worked-dunng-past-week-was-33-
million (date last accessed: July 15, 2019).
2 Id.


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 2022.3 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.
SENATOR JOEL VILLANUEVA
3 Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 (Abridged Version) National Economic Development Authority. Retrieved 
from: http://www.neda.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Abridged-PDP-2017-2022_Final.pdf (date last accessed
on April 13, 2018).


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
First Regular Session
SENATE
S. B. NO. 711
o( llji
*19 
JUL 24 A9.-51
RECf:L.i;
Introduced by SENATOR JOEL VILLANUEVA
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:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8 
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20 
21 
22
23
24
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:
Sec. 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 (Phpl50,000.00) [or 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 (Phpl00,000.00) 
but not more than One million pesos (Phpl,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].


1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8 
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
SEC. 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.
SEC. 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.
SEC. 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.
SEC. 5. Effectivity. -  This Act shall take effect fifteen days after publication 
in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,
X X X