Manila, Philippines, Nov 7, 2019 / 11:09 am
A Catholic bishop in the Philippines is drawing attention to the ongoing problem of child labor in the country, urging a cooperative effort to eliminate the factors driving children into often dangerous working conditions.
"The situation of the suffering children and those who are deprived of their rights and dignity leave a great challenge to us as a church and as a society," said Bishop Roberto Mallari of San Jose, according to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines' news website.
The government has introduced a plan to combat child labor and says it hopes to reduce the numbers of working children in the country by 30% by 2022.
However, Mallari stressed that the factors contributing to child labor are complex, and will take a combined effort from the government, church, and society to solve.