ABS-CBN Foundation’s Bantay Bata 163 celebrated 24 years of protecting and loving the Filipino child with a music video dedicated to its beneficiaries, donors, partners, and founder, Gina Lopez.
Featuring the song “Bawat Isa ay Bata,” performed by international sensation TNT Boys composed of Mackie Empuerto, Keifer Sanchez, and Francis Concepcion, the video shows how Bantay Bata 163 has evolved through the years as it strives to champion the welfare of the children.
Founded by the late Gina Lopez, the former chair of ABS-CBN Foundation, Bantay Bata 163 began as a hotline to report incidents of child abuse. Nowadays, it also offers educational assistance and manages a childcare residential facility where rescued victims of child abuse are cared for until they are ready to rejoin their families and community.
Amid the pandemic, Bantay Bata 163 continues to serve Filipino children through educational assistance, Children’s Village, and Hotline 163. In fact, it even expanded its Hotline 163 system with the launch of Bantay Bata 163’s own Facebook page in 2020 that enabled it to be more responsive to reports on abuse and other needs of children.
Bantay Bata 163 director of advocacy Ernie Lopez, Gina’s brother, expressed his gratitude to each one that helped the program sustain its services for more than two decades.
“There is a lot more work to be done but I want to thank all of you for your hard work all these 24 years. Without the grace of God, without volunteers like you, without hardworking employees like you, and without the gracious generosity of donors and sponsors, we would not still be around,” he said in a recorded video.
Joining him in leading Bantay Bata 163 to new heights is his and Gina’s sister Roberta Lopez-Feliciano, the new managing director of the ABS-CBN Foundation.
“Bantay Bata has grown in reach and scope, tackling the deeply rooted issues of poverty, inequality, and violence through holistic support services aimed at producing citizens with a deep sense of social responsibility and action. We continue to improve our services and online presence to ensure that we are able to address current issues such as online sexual abuse and exploitation of children, cyber-bullying and child mental health,” she said.
Meanwhile, as Bantay Bata 163 continues to provide protection and love for Filipino kids, its former scholars have also lent their voices in seeking help for children who experienced the same hardships they went through.
One of them, Christian Jake Ramos said, “Dahil natapos ko ang aking pag-aaral, nabigyan ako ng pag-asa na may naghihintay na magandang kinabukasan para sa akin. Marami pang bata ang nangangarap na magkaroon ng magandang kinabukasan para po sa buhay nila, sa pamilya nila, kaya sana po matulungan po natin sila lalo na ‘yung nangangailangan talaga ng tulong.”
