Child Labor in the Philippines

Child labor is an unacceptable fact that is prominent here in the Philippines, but abolishing it means abolishing the hopes of the children to earn money for their family. First let’s define what child labor is, According to Wikipedia Child Labor is the employment of children under an age determined by law or custom. This practice is considered exploitative by many countries and international organizations. Back in 1992 Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa passed the bill entitled Child Labor Deterrence Act, this bill prohibits the importation of products from different countries especially in the US that have been manufactured by children aged 6 - 17 years old. After passing the bill and imposing it, many activists had rallied and revolted against child labor, creating noise all over the world. Some have chosen to boycott most of the products that have been known to be manufactured by underage children, like carpets, clothing lines, and other things. Other companies that manufacture shoes and leather bags that have had workers that are underage were dismissed, leaving 50,000 – 60,000 children jobless and were put under the custody of UNICEF. Child labor in here is not just about housekeeping, it’s more like prostitution, mining, farming, and shoe shining, yeah, I know it’s too broad. The question is, are these things really worth it? Do we really save them from being the victims of poverty? Does this law really help children to earn money that they need for everyday consumption? Why don’t we take ourselves into the dilapidated shoes of the poor children? Let’s say that the situation is like this, you’re a kid aged 12 years old and you have 6 siblings, your mom is a banana-cue vendor on the streets earning only 100 pesos everyday and your dad is a “slacker” and at the same time is a “drunkard” not to mention that he is a “crackpot”, you work as a shoe shiner down at Recto and you only earn 60 pesos a day, it’s hard for you to allot your earnings for the day because you have