RCLC 7 signs social accord to eliminate worst forms of child labor
By Fayette C. Riñen
‘as PHL celebrates October as Children’s Month’
CEBU CITY, Oct. 24 (PIA) -- Local chief executives, congressmen, government heads, representatives of non government organizations, private and religious groups here recently signed the “Social Accord: Pledge of Support to the Elimination on the Worst Forms of Child Labor” as the country annually celebrates Children’s Month every October.
Signatories of the agreement are members of the Regional Child Labor Committee (RCLC) – Central Visayas chaired by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) 7 to show their force in taking actions against child labor and exploitation.
A recent report from the International Labor Organization (ILO) revealed that there are 2.4M Filipino children forced to work because of massive poverty in the country. Moreover, these working children are forced to work in dangerous trade such as prostitution, sugar cane plantations, mining and factories.
The ILO report said the highest number of working children is found in Northern Mindanao while Eastern Visayas ranked second.
Cebu on the other hand, has been reported as a major transshipment point for trafficked children and women while expose’ on cyber sex operations in depressed areas in the province has shocked the local community especially as even parents pimp their own flesh and blood and which has become a major source of livelihood.
With the alarming reports over the conduct of clandestine cyber sex operations as well as cases of human trafficking have prompted local government units and concerned government agencies and civic groups here to bon together in waging war against such crimes.
The RCLC-7 social accord on the other hand, comes at a time when the country celebrates Children’s Month this October of which yesterday, the committee conducted ‘A Day for Working Children” at the Mandaue City Sports Complex.
Apart from the signing of the agreement, among the highlights of the activity yesterday was the impression of a working child and the giving out of certificates of awarding to private partners of Project Angel Tree, an undertaking of DOLE. Project Angel Tree aims to grant the wishes of child laborers where the network of patrons, donors and benefactors donate food, clothing, shoes, bags, school, supplies and other items in the wish list of working children.
The Philippines meanwhile, is a signatory to the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child of which the basic mission is to protect the rights of children and help meet their basic needs as well as to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. (PIA-Cebu)
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Mandaue City LGU lauds 20 outstanding children, to build Children’s Center
by Amor Saludar
CEBU CITY October 24 (PIA) -- The City of Mandaue in the province of Cebu recently acclaimed 20“Outstanding Children” in recognition for their excellent academic performance and active involvement in community services.
Mandaue City Vice- Mayor Glenn Bercede and Mrs. Sarah Cortes, the chairperson of the Mandaue City Council for the Protection of Children and city government focal person Maricel Yu led the recognition rites given to the deserving students from the different academic institutions in the city.
“Aside from their excellent performance in the academic aspect, these children also displayed active participation in community undertakings may it be as president in the school’s supreme student council or government, president in the Rotary Club, CAT battalion commander, orator and debater,” Cortes said.
These students are also religiously active by taking part in church’s activities such as presenting themselves as lectors during mass or as members of the church choir, Cortes added.
Mandaue City Social Welfare and Services (CSWS) Officer Violeta Cabada also revealed that as part of their program to attend the needs and to look after the welfare of the children, the city government of Mandaue is planning to build a Children’s Center that will serve as dwelling to these homeless street children in the near future. (FCR/AS/PIA-CEBU)
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Tourist arrivals in Cebu up by 11 percent in past 8 mos.
By Fayette C. Riñen
CEBU CITY, Oct. 21 (PIA) -- Cebu continues to be a tourism haven for foreign tourists as tourist arrivals for the past eight months this year rose by 11.33 percent as recorded by the Department of Tourism (DOT) Central Visayas.
From January to August, this year, around 562,673 foreign tourists visited Cebu compared to the 474,319 tourist volume of the same period last year with South Koreans topping the list of foreign visitors.
“South Korea is the country’s leading source of tourists comprising 44.49 percent or around 250,353 Korean visitors arrived in the Philippines for the first seven months, this year,” Montecillo disclosed.
Japanese followed second in volume of tourist arrivals with 106,946 or 19.01 percent while the United States came in third with 50, 613 tourists or nine percent, this is reported.
Other nationals that visited Cebu come from countries from East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, America, Oceania and the Middle East, this is learned.
Montecillo however, bared that tourists from Hong Kong dropped with negative 52.57 percent and the People’s Republic of China as well with negative 44.19 percent following a travel ban issued after the hostage taking incident in Manila last year.
But the DOT-7 director expressed optimism that Cebu and the rest of Central Visayas would recover as she learned that many tourists form Hong Kong will be coming here before the end of the year.
Domestic tourists coming to Cebu on the other hand, also slightly rose from 750,643 visitors from January to August 2011 compared to the 705,380 local tourist arrivals of the same period in 2010.
The DOT-7 recorded a total of 1,313,316 foreign and local tourists that visited Cebu compared to the 1,179,699 tourist volume of the same period last year. (PIA-Cebu)