Report child abuse to Makabata Hotline 1383, public urged

MANILA, Philippines — The public should not be silent about child abuse by reporting all forms of child rights violations to the Makabata Hotline 1383, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said on Friday.

The hotline was developed by the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), an attached agency of the DSWD, to provide “immediate response, monitoring, and feedback via calls, electronic mail, and different social media platforms about all child rights and concerns,” DSWD spokesman Romel Lopez said.

These include legal queries, psychosocial support, referral services to appropriate agencies involved in safeguarding children’s rights and reporting of child abuse and emergency cases, among others.

Lopez reminded the public not to use the hotline for prank calls or false inquiries “because it may cause grave consequences for those who are in distress.”

Data showed since its launch in November 2022, a total of 156 reports via text, calls, emails and chat has been received by the Makabata Hotline.

Of this, 76.28 percent of the reports were closed while 19.23 percent are pending with limited traction and 4.48 percent are ongoing.

“The CWC is consistently seeking out partnerships with non-government organizations and national government agencies to strengthen the implementation of the Makabata Hotline 1383 because we believe that this mechanism will truly help us to protect and uphold the rights of children,” Lopez said.