Following data that found the Western Visayas ranked fourth in the nation when it comes to the province with the highest number of child laborers, which numbered 171,744 in 2011, Department of Labor and Employment-Region VI (DOLE-6) director, Atty. Johnson Cañete, called the figure “alarming.”

“In our Filipino culture, children are often brought by their parents to work,” he explained.

The regional director noted, most child laborers in the region are working in dangerous fields, including sugarcane fields, mines, and pyrotechnics.

DOLE-6 plans on verifying the number of child laborers in the region this year.

On Tuesday, Cañete signed a memorandum of agreement with Vallacar Transit Incorporated, the parent company of the Ceres Liner bus, in order to provide transportation for rescued child laborers./DGB, WDJ