PRESS RELEASE
August 26, 2008
Office of Caloocan City Mayor “Recom” Echiverri
Ref. Public Information Office
Telefax 3244644

Caloocan City Mayor Enrico “Recom” Echiverri yesterday ordered the continuous conduct of advocacy-orientation on health and safety among managers and owners of nightspot establishments operating within the city.

According to Echiverri, this will ensure that managers and owners of KTV, bars, health clubs, spas, and massage parlors that operate within the city will be familiarized with the updated standards and operating procedures regarding health, safe workplace and other important laws and guidelines.

Echiverri said the information drive will also deter these establishments from hiring minors into service and ensure that these businesses adhere to the existing labor laws.

“Our city government recognizes the rights of minors to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with their education, or to be harmful to their health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development,” the mayor emphasized.

“Our campaign will assist owners and managers to improve their daily operations without necessarily violating our labor laws and city ordinances.”

The city’s Labor and Industrial Relations Office (LIRO) through its Public Employment Services Office (PESO) will facilitate the conduct of the series of orientation.

For his part, concurrent LIRO chief and PESO manager Dante Esteban said even members of the Caloocan Police Department played an important role in the advocacy as they are the ones strictly implementing the labor laws.

The advocacy-orientation is an upgrade of an earlier drive headed by Echiverri which targeted at least 40 nightspots and promoted the prohibition of employment of minors.

The campaign is in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment – National Capital Region (DOLE-NCR) and the United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF).