PLDT, through its B2B arm PLDT Enterprise, has deepened its partnership with the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) to improve public access to the MAKABATA Helpline 1383. Launched in October 2023, the helpline serves as the central reporting and referral system for all issues concerning children, especially those in need of special protection.
“Children are among the most vulnerable in society, and we are committed to upholding their rights and welfare,” said Michael Nolasco, AVP and Head of Customer Relationship Management, PLDT Enterprise. “Through our partnership with the CWC, we will develop cost-effective solutions to make the portal more reachable for Filipinos.”
Through the platform, CWC can tap concerned agencies and local government units to provide the necessary intervention to save potential victims. In 2024 alone, the helpline received more than a thousand calls including cases of sexual, physical and psychological abuses, as well as custody concerns.
Recently, Pres. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed Executive No. 79 that establishes the MAKABATA program and institutionalizes the MAKABATA Helpline 1383 as the go-to reporting platform for concerns regarding vulnerable children.
Michael Nolasco, AVP and Head of Customer Relationship Management, PLDT Enterprise
This partnership with the CWC is aligned with the much broader child protection mission of the PLDT Group. PLDT has been proactively fighting online threats to children through its pioneering Child Protection Platform which blocks child sexual abuse and exploitation materials (CSAEM) on the more difficult content level. In the first half of 2025, the tool prevented more than half a million attempts to open CSAEM online. So far, the platform has blacklisted almost 2 million URLs and content tied to online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC). The PLDT Group’s membership to the UK-based Internet Watch Foundation and the Canadian Centre for Child Protection’s Project Arachnid has expanded its capability to identify illicit child content and keep them off its network.
Meanwhile, PLDT’s wireless arm Smart has also partnered with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) in connecting Filipinos in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas. Through the ‘Bayanihan SIM’ initiative, Smart distributes SIM cards to government-identified beneficiaries that include students and teachers, enabling more Filipinos to report child welfare issues to the MAKABATA Helpline 1383.
These efforts reflect the PLDT Group’s broader commitment to safeguarding children and supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16: promoting peace, justice, and strong institutions—particularly by ending violence and abuse against children.
Learn more about what PLDT Enterprise’s suite of digital solutions, visit https://bit.ly/pldtenterprise-cwc-makabata-1383-pr.
