MANILA - The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and ABS-CBN Foundation's Bantay Bata 163 on Monday formalized a partnership to further improve efforts on child protection.

Secretary Rex Gatchalian met with representatives of Bantay Bata 163 to discuss ways on how to strengthen and enhance the agency's child protection programs.

LOOK: Social Welfare Secretary @rex_gatchalian met with representatives with ABS-CBN Foundation's Bantay Bata 163 to further enhance the department's initiatives on child protection.

(📷: @dswdserves)@ABSCBNNews pic.twitter.com/iVPxhp05zC

— Jervis Manahan (@JervisManahan) February 13, 2023

Bantay Bata 163 will act as an external child protection program implementer, supplementing the DSWD's programs and initiatives.

It will also come up with a total child protection package, specifically targeting children in need of temporary shelter and rehabilitation, and are admitted in DSWD-run centers and care facilities.

Gatchalian said the package should include holistic and integrated approaches.

"Give them a clear pathway to become successful in life," he said.

Among the programs currently implemented by DSWD are Strategic Helpdesks for Information, Education, Livelihood, and other Developmental Interventions or SHIELD against child labor; Unlad Kabataan Program, Supplementary Feeding Program; Recovery and Reintegration Program of Trafficked Persons; Comprehensive Program for Street Children, Street Families, and Indigenous Peoples especially Sama Bajaus; Residential Care Facilities; and other community-based programs and services addressing children in need of special protection from abuse and exploitation.

Bantay Bata 163 is a child welfare program established by the ABS-CBN Foundation to protect disadvantaged and at-risk children through a nationwide network of social services.