† Determined by national law or regulation as hazardous and, as such, relevant to Article 3(d) of ILO C. 182.
‡ Child labor understood as the worst forms of child labor per se under Article 3(a)–(c) of ILO C. 182.

Children at Higher Risk

Many children in the Philippines are victims of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC), in which children perform sex acts at the direction of paying foreigners and local Filipinos for live internet broadcasts that take place in small internet cafes, private homes, or windowless buildings sometimes referred to as cybersex dens. The sector is highly profitable and growing due to increasing internet connectivity, widespread English language literacy, gaps in existing legislation and financial systems, and high international demand. Twenty percent of internet-using children between the ages of 12 and 17 in the Philippines have been exploited in OSAEC based on 2021 data. Children, primarily girls, from rural communities and disaster-affected areas, are also subjected to domestic trafficking in urban centers and tourist destinations for the purposes of domestic work and sex trafficking, and traffickers exploit these children in other forms of forced labor. As the Philippines is vulnerable to natural disasters including typhoons, tsunamis, volcanic activity, droughts, and erosion—and models indicate that the frequency and scale of these disasters will escalate in the coming years—an increasing number of children may be exposed to child labor. Additionally, the recruitment and use of children by non-state armed groups, primarily the New People's Army and Dawla Islamiyah, remains a concern in the country. These children are used in both combat and non-combat roles, including as supply officers, medics, and cooks, and for running errands.

Barriers to Education Access

Although the Constitution establishes free, compulsory education through age 18, unofficial school-related fees, such as for school uniforms, are prohibitive for some families. Other barriers to education include substandard infrastructure, which makes traveling and access to schools challenging, especially for children in rural areas, and architectural barriers that pose challenges for children with disabilities.

* Country has no conscription
‡ Age calculated based on available information

While children under 18 are subject to a light work framework limiting night work and hours of work, children ages 15 to 18 are limited to eight hours a day and 40 a week, which may not be low enough to prevent prejudice to children’s compulsory education through age 18.

In 2023, 1,210 labor inspectors conducted 29,221 worksite inspections, with an unknown number of child labor violations found. There were also 4 investigations into suspected worst forms of child labor crimes, with 22 prosecutions initiated and 9 perpetrators convicted.

† Policy was approved during the reporting period.
‡ The government had other policies that may have addressed child labor issues or had an impact on child labor.

For information about USDOL’s projects to address child labor around the world, visit https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/ilab-project-page-search
† Program is funded by the Government of the Philippines.
‡ The government had other social programs that may have included the goal of eliminating or preventing child labor.

The Philippines permits the widespread use of contract labor for workers in all industries, including agriculture. In rural agricultural areas, employers rely on "manpower cooperatives” to supply a significant amount of labor. Workers in these cooperatives are legally prohibited from forming unions. Workers who are unable to form unions are unable to engage in bargaining for wages and other terms and conditions at work, which keeps wages low and perpetuates the poverty that drives child labor in the Philippines.

Download the 2023 Bibliography