INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–Maria Cecilia Flores-Oebanda has been awarded the first Iqbal Masih award for the elimination of exploitative child labor, according to the United States Department of Labor.

Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Charlotte M. Ponticelli said the US agency is giving this award to acknowledge Flores-Oebanda’s lifetime battle against the use of child domestic workers and the trafficking of women and children for domestic servitude and commercial sexual exploitation in the Philippines and internationally.

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YouTube singing sensation turned international star Charice Pempengco returns to Manila for a one-night concert for Filipino fans. An up-and-coming international artist, Pempengco has performed with foreign artists like David Foster, Celine Dion, Josh Groban and Andrea Bocelli. She has appeared in popular television shows including Oprah. In this video, INQUIRER.net multimedia reporter Anna Valmero talks to Pempengco about her plans.

By Marjorie Gorospe

MANILA is a place where you can find a lot of colleges and universities in the country. Thus a portion of Manila has earned the name of “university belt.” Today, you find students roaming the streets of Manila. They come from different places to seek education here. Even foreign students would travel to Manila to finish college.

But for Ambao and Jimmy, their situation is a different. Both kids wonder the streets of Manila. They are among many families displaced by the war in Basilan. They ended up in Manila because they believed they could have a better life here.

I met Ambao and Jimmy — not their real names –in the streets of Manila. I asked them how old they were but I didn’t get a straight answer. I really am not sure of their ages. But they were really young and they are hard to miss because they are often seen playing improvised drums in the streets of Manila. They would hop from one passenger jeepney to another to play music — hoping passengers would be entertained and eventually give them loose change.

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AGE does not matter in protests.

When I was covering a rally this week, I saw this four-year-old child who joined her grandparents in their call to extend and reform the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

There were also other children ages 10 to15 years who gave out flyers to passers-by.

I approached one of the children. His name was Ryan Christian Banayo, a 10-year-old boy whose parents are farmers at the Hacienda Yulo in Canlubang, Calamba City. I asked the boy why he was there and what they were fighting for. The boy just gave me an innocent look, and smiled.

His mother, Nancy Banayo, explained later that she wanted the child to see that they were fighting for their rights.

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