The Republic of the Philippines is a tropical country comprising 7,107 islands, located in Southeast Asia, within the western Pacific Ocean. The Philippines have an estimated 98 million people, making it the twelfth most populous country in the world. The predominant religion is Roman Catholic (81 percent) and predominate languages include Filipino and English.

In the Philippines, many children are exploited and neglected. In the military, some serve in auxiliary roles; as cooks, porters, informants, and combatants. Many children in the military learn aggressive behaviors like killing, capturing and creating bombs. Female soldiers also frequently double as sex slaves. Aside from military exploitation, the Philippines remain a source, transit and destination for human trafficking. Internal trafficking is also an issue, as women and children from rural areas are lured into sex slavery, forced labor, domestic and factory work, or into the drug trade.

Lack of quality education is also an issue, especially for the critical primary school years. For children under the age of six, early learning also continues to be a neglected area of development. Many parents still do no recognize or believe in early learning stimulation through formal or non-formal structures.

• 300,000 - 400,000 - the number of Filipino women trafficked annually
• 60,000 - 100,000 - the number of children trafficked and forced into sex slavery annually
• UNICEF estimates 2 million Filipino children are out of school
• Only 70 percent complete full primary schooling for those who are enrolled
• Out of 1.3 million grade 6 students, only 18 percent passed the competency level for english, 8 percent for math and 10 percent passed science during the high school readiness test

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