ABS-CBN stars in outreach programs for Bantay Bata Cebu

ABS-CBN’s highly successful Daghang Salamat Cebu event wasn’t merely a weekend of star-studded live shows which rocked the entire city and thrilled thousands of Cebuanos. It was also a time for the giant network, which leads in the over-all nationwide surveys, to reinforce its corporate social responsibility through the outreach program of Bantay Bata Cebu of the ABS-CBN Foundation.

Since Bantay Bata Cebu was launched at the ABS-CBN Visayas Complex in Mandaue City last January, coinciding with this year’s Sinulog festival, the media-based organization has intensified social responsibility efforts in the province. The station has then received various favorable feedback welcoming Bantay Bata in Cebu, particularly its hotline facility, which makes reporting of child abuse easier and faster.

"There are various child-caring institutions in Cebu, but Bantay Bata will focus on its hotline and litigation services to complement the existing NGOs, " says ABS-CBN Cebu station manager Tata Cinco-Sy. "Having Bantay Bata in Cebu is a great help. The groundwork laid by Cebu’s agencies coupled by the expertise of Bantay-Bata will certainly result to a better service to eradicate child abuse."

Bantay Bata specializes in legal counseling and community education to raise awareness on the issue, especially for its prevention and possible solutions. It also concentrates on direct child protection services, children’s center, foster care, family services and even adoption.

Bantay Bata is also the country’s only media-based organization capable of providing the exposure to generate public attention and support. It has served as a medium through which individuals, groups, government and non-government agencies seek support for awareness and resolution of various child-related problems.

"The station has been receiving a lot of reports on child abuse," relates Sy. "But since it does not have the expertise on such a field, they either refer the cases to Bantay Bata Manila or to other agencies and local authorities in Cebu."

During the Daghang Salamat Cebu weekend, ABS-CBN executive vice president and entertainment head Charo Santos visited the Haven Center for Women and Children. She was welcomed by an admiring throng of female residents who are mostly fans of ABS-CBN’s long-running drama anthology, Maalaala Mo Kaya, which she hosts.

The ABS-CBN executive regaled everyone with her own inspiring story of how she grew up in a family of six children in Mindoro, with her doctor-dad treating people not for money but to serve them. In turn, the family gets carabao milk, eggs or vegetables as payment.

Charo was likewise visibly moved by the affecting life stories shared by two female residents who once experienced a life of poverty and even prostitution. The ABS-CBN executive could not contain her tears when a blind woman rendered a song number for her. She later distributed bags of goodies for the residents of the center. The Haven Center for Women and Children has projects linked up with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Quizon Avenue mainstays Jeffrey Quizon, Pokwang, Yachang, Kitkat and Jenny Hernandez delighted the abused and abandoned children at Cebu Hope Center (CHC). Yachang and Pokwang were in tears when they learned how the children ended up at the center. Pokwang, whose son died from sickness a few years ago, even gave a cash donation to the 24-year-old orphanage.

The cast members did a short program where they played games with the kids, performed for them and distributed toys, prizes, loot bags and other give-away items. The stars even joined the children for afternoon snacks of chicken and spaghetti. The kids, in turn, were undeniably pleased as they later posed for photos with the stars and asked the celebrities to sign autographs.

CHC is the realization of a dream of Doña Maria Aboitiz, who envisioned a new welfare home for boys and girls in Cebu. In 1984, she asked the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart to run the center which is now being managed by Sister Juliet Prejalido. The center’s staff - social workers, administrative and finance personnel, and house parents - are lay people.

Meanwhile, the mere presence of Heart Evangelista and Geoff Eigenmann, the popular love team in ABS-CBN’s primetime series, Hiram, thrilled the young residents of Parian Drop-In Center. The kind-hearted Heart and Geoff proved their love for the children whom they entertained during their brief visit to the center.

The orphanage centers provide basic residential care such as food, clothing, shelter, medical assistance; formal and non-formal education sessions and skills training; therapy through individual and group counseling, spiritual guidance, regular sports and recreation activities, creative work, interaction with other children’s centers. With the help of other non-government organizations, some centers even offer assistance in court litigation and/or other legal cases.

Bantay Bata Cebu finds a strong partner under the leadership of Cebu City’s first lady Margot Osmeña, head of Cebu City Task Force on Street Children. ABS-CBN also joins hands with the Cebu City Commission for the Welfare and Protection of Children, the LGUs and other agencies and non-government organizations.

Today, with Bantay Bata Cebu, ABS-CBN would not just deliver news reports on child abuse, but act on it with the help of other agencies in the city. Bantay Bata Cebu Hotline 163 is now operational. Bantay Bata also noted that whatever financial support solicited from Cebuanos will be used for services for the city’s children.