Child work permits

Dear Atty. Kathy,

I’ve had a social media account for a year where I share experiences and information revolving around the daily life of a mom. My daughter, who is now 10 years old, sees what I’m doing and likes participating in my videos. Sometimes, she even has her own episodes where she shares her experiences and tips on the daily life of an elementary student. In a recent episode created by my daughter, a follower, who also does posts videos of himself and his minor son, shared that it is a challenge to get work permits for his son. Is my daughter covered by the work permit requirement? She only does content creation for fun and once in a while.

Sutton

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Dear Sutton,

Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) Labor Advisory No. 12, Series of 2026, Engagement or Participation of Children Below 15 Years of Age in Public Entertainment or Information through Cinema, Theater, Radio, Television, or Other Forms of Media provides that when a child below 15 years of age is engaged in content creation for posting in online media, a working child permit is required whenever the child or the activity falls within the coverage of item number 1.1 of DoLE Department Circular No. 2, Series of 2018, Guidelines on the Issuance of Work Permit for Children below 15 Years of Age Engaged in Public Entertainment or Information, As Amended.

Item number 1.1 of DoLE Department Circular No. 2, Series of 2018 provides that a working child permit is required if a child below 15 years of age will be engaged in public entertainment or information regardless of his/her role in a project such as lead, supporting, guest, or regular extra; and that this includes projects which are non-profit, advocacy materials or political advertisements.

Public entertainment or information, as cited in DoLE Labor Advisory No. 12, Series of 2026, is defined as artistic, literary, and cultural performances for television show, radio program, cinema or film, theater, commercial advertisement, public relations activities or campaigns, print materials, internet, and other media; and that which may be distributed through online media such as streaming services, social media, vlogs, digital advertisements, web series, or web-based publications, or other emerging media, among others.

Further, Republic Act 11904, the Philippine Creative Industries Development Act, defines creative industries as trades involving persons, whether natural or juridical, that product artistic goods and services, originating in human creativity, sill, and talent and having a potential to create wealth and livelihood through the generation and utilization of intellectual property. Moreover, creative industries include the domain of audiovisual media, which refers to recorded and live audio and audiovisual content that are exhibited in vlogs, among others.

According to the DoLE, the purpose of the advisory is to ensure the protection of the welfare, safety, and rights of child participants, in accordance with existing laws and regulations.

Based solely on your narration, your 10-year-old daughter participates in the content creation for your social media account, where she has her own episodes showing the life of an elementary student.

Considering that your daughter is below 15 years of age; that she is engaged in content creation for posting in your social media account; and that her content is a form of public entertainment or information as defined by law, regardless if she does content creation for fun and once in a while only, your daughter is covered under the working child permit requirement of the DoLE.

Atty. Kathy Larios