00:00Now, in 2024, we have given a face to different issues in the country and shared the history.
00:17Issues that we have been facing for a long time, but it seems that it has not changed and many of us still have problems.
00:28Just like the issue of child labor.
00:31They are still babies, but their bodies are already broken.
00:40The children we call Robert and Andoy are only 10 and 8 years old, but they are already broken at work.
00:48They throw and pick up trash from the streets of Manila Bay.
01:00Where are you from?
01:02I'm from the Philippines.
01:04Wait, it's slippery here.
01:25Am I going to fall?
01:27Is there really no one with me here?
01:30I'm just going home.
01:33I'm going to use a styrofoam boat.
01:40Don't throw it.
01:42The materials are also caught in the sea.
01:53Hit it! Hit it!
01:56So what they get here is the plastic that they call Siba.
02:01That is the plastic that is a bit harder compared to this type of plastic.
02:07They can't afford this.
02:09They need this type of plastic.
02:12What they told me is that 1 kilo of this type of plastic costs 8 pesos per kilo.
02:22And because this is light, sometimes they need to get a whole sack of this type of plastic to earn 8 pesos.
02:37Based on the World Bank's 2021 data,
02:40every year, 2.7 million tons of plastic waste comes from the Philippines.
02:4820% of this is spread to the seas.
02:53According to a study by the Ocean Conservancy,
02:56the Philippines is the third largest contributor to plastic pollution in the world.
03:02One of the reasons is the sachet economy,
03:05or the use of single-use containers that are difficult or impossible to recycle.
03:13Plastic waste management is also a problem in our country
03:17because instead of going to treatment and recycling facilities,
03:21it ends up in the sea.
03:26Of course, we need simple everyday practices
03:29like proper segregation and opting for reusables.
03:35But we have to understand that individual actions can only do so much.
03:43Plastic pollution is a systemic problem.
03:46In the Philippines, we have what we call the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.
03:52Under this law, local governments are required to look at their ordinances against waste.
04:11What do you usually eat here?
04:13Rice.
04:14And what do you eat for lunch?
04:17Soy sauce.
04:18Huh?
04:19Soy sauce.
04:20Soy sauce?
04:28I also met a boy named Uno.
04:30He doesn't have a real name.
04:36I caught up with him when he was doing his laundry in the middle of a hot day.
04:43This is my brother.
04:44Come here, Jun.
04:53What do you do with the pako?
04:55I get it and then I buy it.
04:58Where do you get the pako?
05:00At the end.
05:01What's at the end?
05:03Fish. There's a lot of pako there.
05:05Pako.
05:11What do you buy there?
05:15Rice.
05:16Why do you buy rice?
05:18I'm hungry.
05:19Don't they have rice?
05:22I'm hungry every day.
05:25If Uno was studying now, he would be in Grade 4.
05:30Do you want to study?
05:31Yes.
05:32Why do you want to study?
05:33I want to study too.
05:43Twenty, thirty.
05:45I'll just make it thirty-three because I don't have fifty cents.
05:50Uno earned sixty pesos.
05:53That's enough to buy rice.
05:58But Uno's work is not done yet.
06:01Because one of the residents' main livelihood here is peeling garlic.
06:07How much garlic do you peel?
06:09One sack.
06:11Can you do that?
06:13One whole sack?
06:15Pure garlic?
06:16Do you peel all of it?
06:17I'm with you.
06:20How much is that?
06:21One hundred.
06:22One sack is one hundred.
06:23According to the data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority or PSA,
06:27in 2022,
06:295 to 17-year-olds who are working were estimated at one million.
06:36The common reason for their work is that
06:40they are forced to pee instead of studying.
06:45According to the director of the Project Against Child Exploitation, Project ACE,
06:49of the World Vision,
06:51one of the reasons why child labor is weak in a country is poverty.
06:57You know, the issue is also related to poverty.
07:02There are a lot of things that have been done.
07:04A lot of things have been done, but it's still a long way to go.
07:08Because as long as we don't get rid of the issues of poverty,
07:13the issue of corruption,
07:15the issue of family values, there are still a lot of things to do.
07:19According to the Department of Social Welfare and Development or DSWD,
07:24the Department of Education of DepEd has programs
07:28for out-of-school youth to study.
07:31Studying is not expensive anymore,
07:34especially in elementary, high school, or even college.
07:39Because the government already has programs
07:41where they can study for free.
07:44We already have universities.
07:46For example, in college, we have university schools.
07:48They can access.
07:50The story...
07:52The story...
07:54of a child...
07:56of a child...
07:58You should study again.
08:00I want to.
08:02You want to?
08:04What do you want to be when you grow up?
08:06A soldier.
08:11I want to be...
08:13a soldier.
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