52nd Session – The Philippines. Recommendations to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

Alternative Report compiled by Child Helpline International (CHI) and Bantay Bata 163 – April 2009. Annually child helplines receive 11.3 million calls from children and youth needing care and protection. The Philippines’ child helpline is operated by Bantay Bata 163 and is available 24 hrs for 7 days a week. The child helpline is toll-free for callers from landlines only. A national helpline with a short, 3-4 digit number that is toll free, for fixed lines as well as mobile, with current technologies and infrastructure, has the potential to receive almost 2,8 million calls annually. The helpline receives funding from ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. and support from the public through fundraising initiatives.