𝐈𝐍 𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐎𝐒 The Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) hosted a press conference at the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) on February 7, 2025, as part of the preparations for Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Week on the second week of this month.

Mr. Elmer Jude F. Mesina, Deputy Director-General of the Philippine Information Agency, emphasized the importance of collaboration in raising awareness about child protection issues. He called on all sectors of society to join efforts in safeguarding children.

During the conference, Mr. Jefferson Lizardo, from the CWC’s Policy Planning and Research Development division, provided an overview of the agency’s mandate and its role in child welfare.

Usec. Angelo Tapales, Executive Director of the CWC, addressed the ongoing challenge of child abuse in the Philippines, highlighting the positive trend of decreasing cases, while acknowledging the continuing gravity of the issue. According to Usec. Tapales, the Philippine National Police (PNP) recorded 18,089 reports of child rights violations in 2024. This represents a slight decrease from the 18,756 reports documented in 2023. He mentioned that, among these reports, the most common child rights violation continues to be child sexual abuse, including rape, acts of lasciviousness, and sexual exploitation, which has been true since 2016. This underscores the persistent nature of child sexual abuse.

To address these concerns, the MAhalin at KAlingain ating mga BATA (MAKABATA) Program was established through Executive Order No. 79, Series of 2024. This program aims to provide a comprehensive, one-stop system for addressing and monitoring the issues and needs of children in need of special protection (CNSPs).

A key component of the MAKABATA Program is the MAKABATA Helpline 1383, which has been institutionalized as the central reporting system for all CNSP-related concerns. Under the management of the CWC, the helpline will serve as a vital referral pathway, connecting government agencies, local government units, the private sector, and NGOs in a collaborative network. This unified approach ensures efficient service delivery and emphasizes a whole-of-nation effort in child protection.

Usec. Tapales Tapales concluded by reiterating that child protection is a shared responsibility. ”𝘈𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘰 𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘣 𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘺, 𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵, 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘢 𝘪𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨. 𝘕𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘢-𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘱 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘯 — 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨, 𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘰, 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘺𝘢 𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘣𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰, 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪 𝘯𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘢 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘕𝘎𝘖 𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘰𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘥”, he said.

𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐚, 𝐊𝐚𝐦𝐢 𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐚!
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