Yellow Pad

The broadest definition of child labor is, employment of children in work places. The working conditions and environments may vary but as long as a child generates income, it is considered as child labor. There are relatively comfortable forms of child labor such as being part of a family business or being a child actor/actress. These types of work take place in pleasant and accommodating environments. However, the focus of this speech is the child labor that commonly occur in less friendly and poor settings, since this concern demands more attention, due to significant socio-economic implications.

Before I redeem my arguments by proving important points, let me distinguish between an acceptable child work and an exploitative type of labor. I convey to give emphasis on this so as to protect children from abuses and at the same time improve their welfare.

v The government could allow children to work at a “minimum age”, which could be 13 to 15 years and older.
v It could also be flexible to approve light work and apprenticeships for children as young as 10 to 12 years old.
v The authority must strictly eliminate the worst forms of child labor such as prostitution, forced labor, bonded labor and slavery, as well as jobs harmful to a child’s mental, physical, and moral well being.
v They must not exceed a certain number of working hours allowed by the government
v They must not be exposed to dangerous working environments
v And most importantly, they must still be educated during off hours of work, so they can be more productive in the future.

Indeed, child labor is a serious problem especially in most third world countries today like the Philippines. It is problematic in a sense that it prevents schooling of children. It also threatens their health when a considerable number of them were exposed to exploitative and unfavorable working conditions. However, people who are against legalizing child labor must also be aware of the fact that this problem is inevitable, and banning child labor may not be the best interest to them.

There were proven instances where severe poverty due to insufficiency of income led to malnutrition, starvation, diseases and even death. As a result, this phenomenon only exacerbated the level of nourishment and the quality of education children receive. (How could they study well if they starve?) For the mentioned reasons, there is an absolute need to approach the problem of child labor from an economic perspective and find out the most reasonable ways to improve their welfare as well.

Poverty. This has been the primary reason why child labor has become prevalent in this country. But how come poverty targeting projects implemented by the government became ineffective for the past years? According to “Reaching the Poor with Poverty Projects: What Evidence on Social Returns?” by John Weiss, there was widespread problem in undercoverage of poverty targeting errors.

The problem results to non-inclusion of many poor families who are supposed to receive the benefits of these programs, thus, children from these poor families have no choice but to participate in income-earning activities to prevent themselves from starving. The situation was worsened by the “leakage” problem wherein a significant portion of the benefits was attributed to those who are not supposed to be the recipients- people who are above the poverty line. Thus, the poverty projects implemented by the government were strongly deemed as ineffective, in terms of cost-benefit ratios as it merely chained to more problems.

With poverty projects, the cost incurred in carrying out the programs was found to be greater than the benefits generated from it. Since poverty projects were not always as effective as they may be, the poor families cannot expect benefit from it since the government’s budget is limited, as it is not readily expandable to accommodate additional needs. It has always been subject to instrinsic constraints such as foreign debt.

To prove that legalizing child labor could serve as a solution, the regression result from the article: “Is Spatial Inequality Rising in the Philippines?” by Arsenio Balisacan and Nobuhiko Fuwa, provides interesting insights about this issue. It is indicated that the number of children of a family is negatively related to the household welfare. Meaning, the more number of children in the family, the less benefit they obtain. However, the study was able to prove that, the two become positively related, meaning even with many household members (more number of children), families could still improve their welfare, only if more household members are employed, including children. Thus, in this case, child labor could be very much beneficial.

From the said arguments, it is logical to conclude that child labor is the most probable and practical way to improve the welfare of below-poverty line households. Although some of you may still disagree, you must also understand that majority of these children struggle each day to maintain daily survival.

If its not possible to prevent child labor absolutely, why not view it on another light and see it as solution. By legalizing child labor, we can even improve the working child’s well being by implementing laws that could guarantee their protection.

Now let me ask you, would you rather see a helpless poor child work or starve?

Thank you for listening and good afternoon.

Inspirational Speech (1st BECS)
by Elvin Ivan Uy


“It’s not who you are underneath but what you do that defines you”, or so the film Batman Begins would like us to believe. Allow me then to tell you of what I do. I am, as I would put it, a corporate slave for a telecom company, 5 times over in a week – from 8am to 6pm or later – sometimes including weekends but never on holidays. Not too long ago though, I was a college student – an engineering student to be exact; I was also a “student leader”, an activist – I stood for, presumptuous at it may sound, genuine progressive politics both inside and outside this university.

As for the rest of you, you are all young adults and students of business, commerce, and economics. You are expected to study, or do any semblance of it. All of you are tasked to attend classes, submit project papers, take and pass exams, and understand the rudiments of accounting, the Gini coefficient, and the finer points of operations research, among other things. Some of you may have the time to squeeze in some extra-curricular work on the side, being active in your respective professional organizations, church groups, student governments, cause-oriented and volunteerism groups.

But in a matter of years, or months for some of you, you will be defined by another tag – business practitioner, business leader. It is by no means a stretch of imagination when I say that the next set of important business leaders and policy makers may very well be in this auditorium right now. And if that is the case, then I must see to it that I get my message across to all of you.

Before I proceed, I just want to see a simple show of hands, who among you here enjoys rock music? It does not matter what variant of rock – acid, pop, punk – just want to know who does. Now, rock music aficionado or not, I am sure most if not all of you know who Bono is. He is of course the lead singer of the iconic band U2. Bono, as some of you may know, was recently adjudged as one of Time Magazine’s “Persons of the Year” for his works that can be summed up by the acronym DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa), which incidentally, is also the name of the NGO he co-founded. Through his efforts and those of other like-minded individuals and institutions, US$50 billion worth of debt will be written off by the G8 for some of the poorest countries in Africa. He is also one of the faces of the “One – Make Poverty History” campaign and is an ardent advocate of fair trade.

Let me now quote a part of his widely-forwarded speech during the Harvard Commencement Day of 2001. He said, “music was like an alarm clock for me as a teenager and still keeps me from falling asleep in the comfort of my freedom. Rock music to me is rebel music. But rebelling against what? In the Fifties it was sexual mores and double standards. In the Sixties it was the Vietnam War and racial and social inequality. What are we rebelling against now? If I am honest, I'm rebelling against my own indifference. I am rebelling against the idea that the world is the way the world is and there's not a damned thing I can do about it. So I'm trying to do some damned thing. But fighting my indifference is my own problem. What's your problem?”

Needless to say, most of you know what assails our country: poverty, unemployment and underemployment, brain drain and the social costs of excessive migration, unfair international trade policies, corruption in the government and “trapo” politics – one that sucks the very life of this nation for the interest of the insatiable and crooked few. But knowing is one thing, understanding them is another. I believe that if all of us truly understand say, what the fact that 1 in every 3 Filipinos lives on less than a dollar a day or that 1 in every 6 of our countrymen have experienced extreme hunger in the past 6 months means, then none of us will be passive accomplices to the perpetuations of these ills.

I am of the impression that we don’t necessarily get to choose the cause we espouse, I believe it chooses us. True, it is a conscious decision to do the things we do in light of how we perceive our realities. But a cause impels you to do something without much prodding. Here’s a case in point.

The names Alfredo Gersava Jr., Hazfle Taborada, Adrian Protacio and RJ Palinge certainly do not ring a bell for any of you. All four are civil engineering students of the Sultan Kudarat Polytechnic State College. They have dedicated themselves to helping the Manobo, Tiduray, B'laan, T'boli and Christian communities of Sultan Kudarat rise above their impoverished lives. To do so, they take 8-to-10-hour rides and walks across mountain trails, hanging bridges and streams twice or thrice a month. The four are active members of the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), a nonprofit organization that encourages university students worldwide to teach residents of remote communities entrepreneurship, market economics, financial literacy and marketing skills.

In the town of Kalamansig, they taught the community how to use rice hull ash in making concrete hollow blocks. Rice hull ash, a waste product of rice milling, is usually burned or thrown away, which harms the environment. With the new technology of using rice hull ash as a cement extender, the community not only solved the problem of waste management but also cut the cost of construction materials. The community has then been tapped by Gawad Kalinga Foundation to supply its hollow block requirements.

But there’s more. In the town of Lebak, the team taught the coastal community to fatten mud crabs (alimango) and market these to supplement its income from raising fish in ponds. Only 22 days are needed to fatten crabs, compared with the needed 3 months or more to culture fish. Because the community residents learned how to market their products, they eliminated the need for middlemen. This also solved the problem of the mud crabs feeding on fingerlings and destroying fishnets. The community members had raised their income by as much as 60% as a result.

For all their work, the team was our country’s official delegate to the Sife Olympics in Toronto, Canada held in October of last year. But what is particularly poignant about this story is the fact that the four were themselves cash-strapped. Asked why they do it in spite of their own difficulties, Alfredo simply answered, “we may be poor but we have other blessings from God. That is our capital”.

Now I ask, what is your cause? What is it you stand for? How do I define you and your group of future business leaders? If I go by the theme of this convention – Philippine Prime Movers, Going beyond Business – can I safely assume that yours is more than just about making profits, commanding shamelessly high salaries, and the business of doing business?

You don’t have to answer now. But I do hope each and every one of you think about it in light of all that our country is currently not and all that you can be for it. Certainly, it does not matter who you are or what you do; anyone from financially-challenged students to millionaire rock stars can chip in. Let that define our generation.

Let it be said that we rebelled against our own indifference, and won.

I have lived by this motto almost my entire life, a Chinese proverb that my father has taught me since I was 7 or 8? No matter what circumstances I’ve encountered, I was guided by this consistently. Kahit gusto ko na sumapak ng tao, I’ve persistently reminded myself by this saying. In my opinion, a practical analogy could be: wag ka manapak kung ayaw mo masapak. BOOM! aaww

NOW, I’m taking all its consequences. Putting a shit on my head.

“Patience is power!” “Smile on the face of adversity!” blahblah. I’ve been reading a lot of self-help articles and books to prepare myself in “battles” that I am currently going through, some tasks I am compelled to do while others I whole-heartedly wanted to do.

I hate being a plain observer; I hunger for big roles. Kung sa basketball, dapat MVP! Or someone like Gladiator. Roooaaaaaar! (but not as brutal as that) I always wanted something extra-ordinary. If given a chance to join GMA Channel 7’s Extra Challenge, I would be more than willing, pera din yun, but more than that; I’m really hooked to challenges. Man! It gives me the adrenaline rush you know, arouses me effortlessly. Wooh!

Personality conflict. This has been bothering me so much lately. For the past 2 weeks, I’ve encountered 3 people. My “enemies” increased by a multiplier! Hand me my sword. Chugush* However, I’ve dealt and resolved with the 2 already. Two down, one more to go, but how long will this conflict last? Sigh. I even consider this person as one of my closest.

I realized, this is too much, baka ako na ang may sayad. But hey, I’m still rational. I took in consideration that no matter how kind you are to a person, it doesn’t mean he/she would reciprocate the same kindness you’ve bestowed unto him/her. “Do to others what you want others do to you”. Doesn’t work that way my friend. Heck, what has this proverb done to me recently?

It’s not that I expect something good in return; it’s just that I hope people would treat me the same way as I treat them. “Ganun talaga”, ang sagot ng isa, as I was trying to absorb for an advice. At least now I learned how to deal with those beings. I’m still in the process of understanding “them” though. As I always tell myself, patience Cel, ok lang yaaaaan! Besides, there is no great accomplishment that is not a result of patience.

I know I’m not perfect. No need to tell me that dear. Am I too demanding? Or judgmental? I’ve reflected on myself well about that. On my part, I think I’m opinionated, more of like giving constructive criticisms to others. Am I not entitled to my own opinion? I tell a person when something’s wrong with her/him. If you think that’s being judgmental, well I’m sorry. Deal with it. Although I also consider keeping my mouth shut, when it is best to do so.

Next issue: being demanding. Please allow me to raise my point. I demand for something when I have my own rational reasons to demand for it. Considering all BECS officers my close friends and blockmates, I know I became demanding during BECS week, cz I had to do so. Iron lady as you may call me, I intended to detach myself from you guys emotionally, especially during meetings so I could handle this project in a more organized manner. It was hard for me too, to treat you as if we’re bureaucrats. When the time is not concerned with this project, I mingled back with you guys, as I was back to my crazy old self.

For whatever other reasons you (whoever you are) find me too demanding, forgive me.

I wouldn’t post this if I had no important reasons. If you happened to reach this part, I hope you could share me some light. I need your opinion about me, and I’d prefer you tell me the negative ones. Definitely there’s something wrong with me. I need an honest opinion, seriously. I’d be more grateful if you tell me the truth no matter how bad it may be.

You could post it down (comment section), or send it to my gmail account, celestinerevilla@gmail.com

Thanks.