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Ramon Mabutas Jr.
Manila Times

QUERY:

Last year, my thirteen-year-old daughter left for the capital-town of our province to look for work in order to pursue her studies. Because she was pretty she was hired as a guest relations officer in a hotel. Her job, however, prevented her from studying as she had to work virtually the whole day. Worse, she had to entertain guests in their rooms.

When I learned about this, I visited her to advise her to find another job. The hotel manager prevented her from leaving, saying she signed a three-year contract with them. Can the hotel management compel my daughter to continue working because of the contract? Is there a way for my daughter to be released from the contract?

Dalmacio E.

Response:

Your query elicits an affirmative answer. The contract she entered into is defective, she being a minor.

The Civil Code provides that “unemancipated minors“ cannot give consent to a contract (Article 1327). Thus, the subject contract is voidable. Parenthetically, the phrase “unemancipated minors” refers to persons who have not reached the age of majority—as such, they are still subject to parental authority. By the way, a voidable contract is one that possesses all the essential requisites of a valid contract, but has a defect or vice in that the consent is vitiated where one of the parties—like your young daughter—is incapable of giving consent thereto. Thus, the same can be the subject of annulment.

Considering that your daughter is dutybound to entertain the hotel guests in their rooms, it is possible that she was required to engage in immoral activities. If this is the case then it can be said that the contract also lacks an essential element, i.e., lawful cause. On this score, the Civil Code also provides, inter alia, that contracts with unlawful cause produce no effect whatever. The cause is unlawful if it is contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order or public policy. (Article 1352) If this is the case then the contract she entered into may be treated as void. Article 1409 clearly provides that a contract is inexistent and void from the beginning if its “cause, object or purpose is contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order or public policy.”

For your information, we have a law, R.A. 9231 (which amended Republic Act No. 7610) the “Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act,” which provides special protection to children from all forms of abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation and discrimination, and other conditions prejudicial to their development. Under the law, children below 15 years old should not be employed—this is subject only to a few exceptions—and with the further condition that:

1. the employer should ensure the protection, health, safety, morals and normal development of the child;
2. the employer should institute measures to prevent the child’s exploitation or discrimination, taking into account the system and level of remuneration, and the duration and arrangement of working time; and
3. the employer should formulate and implement, subject to the approval and supervision of competent authorities, a continuing program for training and skills-acquisition of the child.

In these cases where a child may be employed, the employer should first secure, before engaging such child, a work-permit from the Department of Labor and Employment to ensure the observance of the above requirements. The term “child” applies to all persons under eighteen years of age.

The law also prohibits the employment of children in the worst forms of child labor. “Worst forms of child-labor” refer to:

• All forms of slavery, as provided for in the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, or practices similar to slavery, such as sale and trafficking of children, debt-bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labor, including recruitment of children for use in armed-conflict;
• The use, procuring, offering, or exposing of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or pornographic performances;
• The use, procuring, offering, or exposing of a child for illegal or illicit activities, including the production and trafficking of dangerous drugs and volatile substances prohibited under existing laws; or
• Work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is hazardous or likely to be harmful to the health, safety or morals of children.

For your information, complaints on case of unlawful acts committed against children may be filed by the following: (a) Offended party; (b) Parents or guardians; © Ascendant or collateral relative within the 3rd degree of consanguinity; (d) Officer, social worker or representative of a licensed child-caring institution; (e) Officer or social worker of the DSWD; (f) Barangay chairman of the place where the violation occurred or where the child is residing or employed; or (g) At least 3 concerned, responsible citizens where the violation occurred.

The family courts have jurisdiction over all cases involving offenses punishable under RA 9231. However, in cities or provinces where there are no family courts, the regional trial courts and the municipal trial courts have concurrent jurisdiction.

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Above all things, let us reflect on what our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said: “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” (Luke 12:15)

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esmabutas@yahoo.com

Nestor Etolle
Philippine Star

Children as young as seven years old are being trained and used by a pickpocket gang operating in Divisoria and Quiapo to escape arrest and prosecution, the Manila Police District said yesterday.

Policemen arrested two children who were caught stealing cash and a cellular phone from Divisoria shopper Shirley Maceda, who said the children distracted her by offering plastic bags for sale.

Maceda identified the children, who yielded P520 and a cell phone the victim said was hers.

The seven-year-old girl, the more vocal of the two, said they were trained by an 18-year-old man they know only as “Orak.”

Showing a healed wound on her shoulder, the girl said Orak would beat them up if they refused to steal valuables from shoppers. She said Orak would give them P100 as their share of the loot.

The girl said child pickpockets, snatchers and “earring pickers” in Divisoria and Quiapo are under Orak’s command. She said yesterday was the first time she had been arrested.

The other child, a 12-year-old boy, said they usually pass on their loot to other gang members to escape arrest.

Meisic police station chief Superintendent Nelson Yabut said the police are aware of the illegal activities of the youthful thieves, but lamented an existing law that abolished the criminal liability of children 15 years old and below.

“We cannot file charges against these youths. We have to turn them over to the social welfare department. But the problem is these child offenders will return to their old ways after being freed,” Yabut said.

He said they cannot round up child pickpockets since they disguise themselves as plastic bag vendors.

Yabut said he has instructed his men to hunt down the gang’s leader and trainor.

Manila Times

NEW YORK: Children as young as 10 are being forcibly recruited into the Myanmar army, bought and sold by military recruiters desperate to swell their ranks, Human Rights Watch said in a report Wednesday.

The junta, plagued by high desertion rates and a lack of volunteers, is enabling the practice with military recruiters and civilians getting cash and other incentives for each new recruit, the rights group said.

“The government’s senior generals tolerate the blatant recruitment of children and fail to punish perpetrators,” said Jo Becker, children’s rights advocate for Human Rights Watch.

“In this environment, army recruiters traffic children at will.”

Recruiters, desperate to meet quotas set by their superiors, target children at train and bus stations, markets and other public places and threaten them if they refuse to join. Some children are beaten until they agree, said the report entitled “Sold to be Soldiers: The Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers in Burma.”

The rights group said thousands of children are among the army’s ranks and in some newly-formed battalions, children reportedly represent a large percentage of privates.

“They filled the forms and asked my age, and when I said 16, I was slapped and he said, ‘You are 18. Answer 18,’” Maung Zaw Oo told Human Rights Watch, recounting the second time he was forced into service.

Another former child soldier, Than Myint Oo, said: “The officers are corrupt and the battalions have to get recruits, so there’s a business.

“The battalions bribe the recruiting officers to get recruits for them. These are mostly underage recruits, but the recruiting officers fill out the forms for them and say they’re 18.”

One boy said he was forced into the army at age 11, despite being only 1.3 meters tall (four feet, three inches) and weighing less than 31 kilos (70 pounds).

The regime’s recent bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters led by Buddhist monks sparked international outrage, with the United States tightening sanctions on the ruling military junta.

And the sweep against monks and other protesters may make children more vulnerable to recruitment as the army could “find it even harder to find willing volunteers,” Human Rights Watch said.

Although the UN Security Council has threatened sanctions against those in the regime linked to the use of child soldiers, it has so far taken no action, it said.

The report calls for the Security Council to consider possible bans on the supply of arms and military assistance and travel restrictions on regime leaders.

“The Security Council should fulfill its pledge to hold violators to account for recruiting and using child soldiers,” Becker said.

“Given Burma’s abysmal record on child soldiers, sanctions against the Burmese military government are clearly warranted,” said Becker, using the country’s previous name.

Dennis Berino
Manila Times

Poverty has many faces. Hunger, out-of-school youth, illegal settlers. One of the most invidious however is making children work to help support their families.

It is the right of children to be nurtured, to go to school, to play, to be nourished and have fun and grow up and have a normal childhood. It is the duty of families, government and society at large to provide the wherewithal, resources and services for the children to have food and sustenance, education, recreation, safe environment—and all else needed to ensure their well-being.

The National Statistics Office estimates that there are 4 million child laborers in the country as of 2004, an 8-percent increase from 3.7 million in 1996. More than half are engaged in the worst forms of child labor, while around 30 percent, or 1.25 million of these working children are not attending school. Many of the children are compelled to work in crop plantations, mining, quarries and factories. These illegal and immoral practices are being openly done with the tacit knowledge of their parents and the shameful individuals and businesses which employ them.

The International Labor Organization says that the Philippines have a long history of legislation that protects the rights and welfare of children. The Labor Code of the Philippines, which was enacted into law in 1974, set the minimum age of employment at 15 years and prohibited the employment of persons below 18 years of age in hazardous undertakings. Presidential Decree No. 603 (The Child and Youth Welfare Code) allows the employment of children aged 16 years and below only if they perform light work, which is not harmful to their safety, health or normal development, and which is not prejudicial to their studies. Strict guidelines were laid down on their rates of pay, hours of work and other conditions of employment. An employment permit also has to be secured from the Department of Labor.

Following the spirit of the 1987 Constitution, national and local legislation have given priority to the protection of children from abuse and exploitation. There is the 1992 Republic Act No. 7610 (Special Protection of Children against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act). This was amended in 1994 thru Republic Act No. 7658 reaffirming the minimum age of employment to 15 years, and 18 years and above for hazardous work. Republic Act 7160 (The Local Government Code of 1991) includes provisions for the proper development and welfare of children at the basic political level, the barangay. It enjoins local officials to promote and support activities for the protection and total development of children, particularly those below seven years of age, and adopt measures to prevent and eradicate drug abuse, child abuse, and juvenile delinquency.

These are just some of the laws but in spite of them, child labor continues. A child advocacy group sums up this malaise effectively: “We regard the youth as the future movers of our country. They will inherit the pride and heritage which has been earned by the sweat, blood and tears of our ancestors. Thus, they must be entitled to the proper preparation to lead this country. And we firmly believe that in forcing these very children to give all of that up just to be able to put food on their families’ tables puts that same future in grave danger.”

“The government and society, in their own respectful way, are willing to aid in the solution to this problem. But it is a fact that it is not as simple as passing new laws but in the fortification of proper implementation. It is therefore imperative for all people of this nation to voice out this concern and to be willing to truly usher in the solution to this ever-growing plight.”

The author teaches at the De La Salle Professional Schools Ramon V. del Rosario Sr. Graduate School of Business. He acknowledges the inputs of two of his students in the above column. He welcomes comments at dennis.berino-@dlsps.edu.ph.