Project Angel Tree brings services to Guimaras

In celebration of 2025 National Children’s Month, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region 6, through its Guimaras Field Office, brought essential services to the community through a Project Angel Tree medical mission and bloodletting activity, benefiting 161 profiled child laborers in the municipality of Sibunag, Guimaras.

Held in Barangay San Isidro, the activity aimed to provide assistance and promote the well-being, health, and development of children, especially those considered vulnerable to, or engaged in, child labor.

Beneficiaries received hygiene kits, food packs, and other gift items from volunteer “angels,” while parents and guardians availed themselves of free medical services.

Organizers also held a bloodletting activity to support local blood banks and strengthen the province’s emergency response capacity.

The event was made possible through partnerships with the Municipality of Sibunag and Public Employment Service Office (PESO)-Sibunag, the Philippine Red Cross-Guimaras Chapter, the provincial Department of Health in Guimaras, the Guimaras Island Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Guimaras Mango Country Lions Club.

Each partner group provided resources and personnel to help ensure children and their families received material support and health services.

Spearheaded by DOLE-6 Regional Director Atty. Sixto T. Rodriguez Jr., the initiative highlighted the role of community collaboration in addressing the root causes of child labor and extending assistance to affected families.

Rodriguez said eliminating child labor requires continuous and coordinated efforts from government, private partners and communities.

DOLE runs Project Angel Tree as a “social welfare and development” program that links child laborers, children of workers, and other disadvantaged children with donors, typically during the holiday season, and government agencies often pair it with services such as medical missions.

This year’s National Children’s Month theme, “OSAEC-CSAEM Wakasan: Kaligtasan at Karapatan ng Bata, Ipaglaban!”, underscores the shared responsibility of institutions, families, and communities in ensuring a safe, healthy, and nurturing environment where every child can grow and thrive.

Through Project Angel Tree and its allied services, the DOLE reaffirmed its commitment to protecting children’s rights, supporting their development, and helping create better opportunities for their future.