MANILA, Philippines -- Concerned government agencies are working double time to rescue 2.4 million children from hard labor and instead send them to school, Malacañang announced Wedesday.

Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Abigail Valte said they are concerned about the high number of child laborers in the country as reported by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and would exert all efforts to put an end to such exploitive practice.

“Children are supposed to be in school and not working. We are very concerned about the problem. It is being addressed by the Department of Labor and Employment in cooperation with the Department of Social Welfare and Development,” Valte told reporters in the Palace.

The ILO earlier raised the alarm over the estimated 2.4 million Filipino children working in dangerous areas such as sex trade, mining and factories. Widespread poverty has supposedly driven these children to work as helpers, street vendors, farm workers, among others.

Valte said the labor department is already working with the UN agency to eliminate the worst forms of child labor in the country. To determine the extent of the problem, she said they intend to count all the child workers and sort them by profession.

“They want to know the actual number of child workers and their particular industries so we can propose alternatives,” she said.

The labor department earlier announced the government intends to reduce by one-half the worst forms of child labor in the country by 2016.

The anti-child labor program involves stricter enforcement of child labor laws and for alternative employment for the child workers’ families.