CLARK, PAMPANGA – The Institute for Labor Studies (ILS) participated in the stakeholders' consultation on the review of the Department of Labor and Employment Department Order (DO) No. 149, Series of 2016 or the “Guidelines in Assessing and Determining Hazardous Work in the Employment of Persons Below 18 Years of Age,” on 25 April 2025.

ILS Senior Labor and Employment Officer Ms. Franchesca Rose Castillo presented key findings from ILS research studies on child labor, emphasizing the importance of strengthening child labor protection through evidence-based policymaking and implementation.

Ms. Castillo also brought into the discussion the Institute’s 2012 paper on child labor in agriculture sector, which served as input to DO 149, along with the 2019 study on non-hazardous activities for children in the banana and sugarcane supply chains.

The regional consultation series is part of the activities under DOLE Administrative Order No. 41, Series of 2025 or the “Creation of a Technical Working Group for the Review of DO 149, s.2016 and DOLE DO 149-A, s. 2017,” being led by the Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns with support from the International Labour Organization.

The ongoing review of DO 149-16 includes in-depth sectoral workshop sessions with each for its Luzon-leg consultations, to be followed by the Visayas and Mindanao-leg consultations, which will be conducted from May to June this year. 

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