In 1990, the Philippines ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC), a human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health, and cultural rights of children.

Article 4 of the UNCRC, which provides for the protection of rights, states:

“Governments have a responsibility to take all available measures to make sure children’s rights are respected, protected and fulfilled. When countries ratify the Convention, they agree to review their laws relating to children. This involves assessing their social services, legal, health and educational systems, as well as levels of funding for these services. Governments are then obliged to take all necessary steps to ensure that the minimum standards set by the Convention in these areas are being met. They must help families protect children’s rights and create an environment where they can grow and reach their potential. xx2”

Correlative to this is the passage of two laws which aim to protect the rights of children: Republic Act 7610, known as the "Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act", which was passed on June 17, 1992 and its subsequent amendment under Republic Act 9231, approved into law on December 19, 2003.

As the primary policy-making, programming, coordinating and administrative entity of the Executive Branch of the government in the field of labor and employment, the Department was charged with the task of creating the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for RA 9231 to effectively implement its provisions.

Sections 2 and 3 of RA 9231 provide for the exemptions for the employment of children and prescribes social protection measures for children engaged in employment, fixing the hours of work for those who fall under the exemption.

To ensure that the Department undertakes its mandate of extending a protective and caring environment for children in all societal levels and institutional settings, Chapter 4 of DO 65-04 has set the requirements to avail of exceptions to employment prohibitions. This refers to the issuance of work permits to children upon satisfactorily meeting the requirements set by the Department.

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Title: POLICY ANALYSIS ON THE ISSUANCE OF WORK PERMIT FOR CHILDREN IN THE THEATRE INDUSTRY BASED ON RA 9231
Researcher: Tecelyn B. Maramag