MANILA- The child welfare arm of ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation signed a deal on Tuesday with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) for the protection of children left behind by Filipino migrant workers.

Bantay Bata 163 program director Jing Castañeda and Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III led the signing of the memorandum of agreement for the "Aruga't Kalinga Para sa Batang Pilipino" program.

ASB-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya's Bantay Bata 163 at Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, pumirma sa isang memorandum of agreement para protektahan ang mga batang naiiwan ng mga magulang na OFWs @DZMMTeleRadyo pic.twitter.com/gc10Rjhiwx

— Joyce Balancio (@joycebalancio) May 8, 2018

"Through the partnership, magkaroon ng programa ang OWWA at ang Bantay Bata para iyong mga pamilya na naiwan ng mga OFW ay patuloy na maalagaan, patuloy na matulungan, maturuan kung paano maiwasan ang pang-abuso sa mga bata," Castañeda said.

(The OWWA and Bantay Bata will have a program so that families left behind by OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) will continuously be cared for, and taught how to avoid child abuse.)

The partnership, according to Bello, was also a response to studies that show that most of the children left behind by OFWs usually become victims of abuse.

Among the features of the partnership are positive parenting and child protection training to be provided by the OWWA, which aims to help over 10 million families of Filipino migrant workers.

Bantay Bata 163 on the other hand, will strengthen its hotline to receive and immediately respond to reports of child abuse. -report from Joyce Balancio, ABS-CBN News

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