Quick answer

If a child is in immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest police station, hospital, or city/municipal social welfare and development office. Do not confront the suspected abuser if doing so could endanger the child.

For any suspected child abuse—including physical or sexual abuse, serious neglect, grooming, sexual extortion, livestreamed abuse, or sexual images or videos involving a child—report promptly through one or more of these channels:

MAKABATA Helpline 1383, the government’s 24/7 child-protection helpline
The nearest Philippine National Police Women and Children Protection Desk
The nearest National Bureau of Investigation office, particularly for online or technology-facilitated abuse
The City or Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office
The barangay, preferably through its Barangay Council for the Protection of Children
For a non-emergency online report, the DSWD’s online reporting page

You do not need to determine the exact crime or prove the entire case before reporting. State honestly what you saw, heard, received, or reasonably suspect. A child may report directly, and a parent’s permission is not required before authorities can be alerted.

If the child is in danger now

Treat the situation as an emergency when:

The suspected abuser is with the child or knows where to find the child
The child is being assaulted, threatened, restrained, transported, or livestreamed
The child may be forced to meet someone they encountered online
The suspect has threatened to release sexual images unless the child complies or pays
The child has serious injuries, bleeding, severe pain, altered consciousness, or suicidal thoughts
Returning home would place the child with the suspected abuser
Other children may be at the same location and in immediate danger

Call 911, which is the Philippines’ unified emergency number, and give the child’s location first. The Department of the Interior and Local Government identifies 911 as the nationwide emergency channel.

Move the child to a safe place only if this can be done without creating greater danger. If the suspected offender is a parent, guardian, relative, teacher, employer, or household member, tell the police and social worker clearly that the child may not be safe if returned to that person.

Medical care should not wait for a police report. For recent sexual assault or physical injury, go to a hospital or a Women and Children Protection Unit where available. Tell the medical staff that abuse is suspected so they can address treatment, documentation, and appropriate referral. Seek care even if the child has already bathed, changed clothes, or delayed disclosing what happened.

What should be reported?

Under Republic Act No. 7610, child abuse includes physical, psychological, sexual, and emotional maltreatment, serious neglect, cruelty, unreasonable deprivation of basic needs, and certain acts that degrade or demean a child. Maltreatment does not have to be habitual; a single incident may be legally significant, depending on the facts.

Warning signs or disclosures worth reporting include:

Hitting, burning, choking, kicking, violent punishment, confinement, or threats of serious harm
Sexual touching, intercourse, penetration, exposure, or forcing a child to watch sexual activity
Grooming, sexual conversations, requests for nude or sexual content, or pressure to keep an online relationship secret
Offering money, gifts, game credits, mobile load, transportation, favors, or other benefits in exchange for sexual activity or images
Threatening to publish an image or video to obtain money, more content, or sexual compliance
Livestreaming or recording the sexual abuse or exploitation of a child
Selling, sharing, possessing, or deliberately accessing sexual images, videos, audio, or other material involving children
Bringing or matching a child with another person for sexual exploitation
Withholding food, shelter, necessary medical treatment, or other basic care in a way that seriously endangers the child
Abandonment, severe neglect, or leaving a young child in a dangerous situation
Abuse by a parent, guardian, relative, teacher, coach, religious leader, employer, caregiver, or another person in authority

The principal law on online sexual exploitation is Republic Act No. 11930, the Anti-OSAEC and Anti-CSAEM Act. It covers online grooming, sexual extortion, livestreaming, image-based sexual abuse, and the production, transmission, distribution, possession, or deliberate access of child sexual abuse or exploitation material.

For this law, a child is generally a person below 18. The child’s apparent agreement does not legalize OSAEC or child sexual abuse or exploitation material. A child who creates a sexual image of themselves is treated as a victim, not an offender, under RA 11930.

Physical sexual activity raises separate questions under the Revised Penal Code and RA 7610. Republic Act No. 11648 generally sets the statutory-rape threshold below 16. It contains a limited close-in-age exception when the age difference is no more than three years and the act is proved consensual, non-abusive, and non-exploitative; the exception never applies when the younger person is below 13. That exception does not make sexual images of a person below 18 lawful. Authorities should assess the applicable offense rather than asking the reporter or child to make that legal determination.

Where to report

MAKABATA Helpline 1383

Call 1383 for child-abuse, neglect, exploitation, or protection concerns. The MAKABATA Helpline was institutionalized by Executive Order No. 79, series of 2024. DSWD and the Council for the Welfare of Children state that the helpline operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and accepts reports involving OSAEC and CSAEM. See the DSWD’s current helpline guidance.

Tell the call taker if it is unsafe to call back, leave a voicemail, or reveal the report to someone in the household.

Police

Go to the nearest police station and ask for the Women and Children Protection Desk. For an active emergency, use 911.

A report may lead to an initial interview, safety action, referral to a social worker, evidence preservation, or a criminal investigation. Ask for the officer’s name, desk or unit, and the report or reference number.

NBI

For grooming, hacking, sextortion, livestreaming, online trafficking, or the circulation of sexual content involving a child, you may report to the nearest NBI regional or district office. The NBI publishes a directory of regional and district offices.

The NBI’s Cybercrime Division procedure allows members of the public to request investigative assistance. Investigators may take a complaint sheet, sworn statements, supporting documents, and—when legally appropriate—examine a relevant device.

Local social welfare office

Contact the City or Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office, commonly called the CSWDO or MSWDO. A social worker can assess immediate safety, coordinate temporary protection or shelter when necessary, arrange medical and psychosocial services, and refer the matter to law enforcement.

In OSAEC and CSAEM cases, RA 11930 assigns the local social welfare office a protective-custody and case-management role. If the local office lacks the necessary staff or facility, or remaining in the locality creates safety risks, DSWD may provide support or temporarily assume protective custody. The specific custody arrangement must be based on the child’s safety and applicable legal procedures; reporting does not automatically mean institutional placement.

Barangay

A report may be made to a barangay official or the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children. The barangay should help secure the child and refer the matter to social welfare and law enforcement.

Do not accept an informal family settlement, apology, payment, or barangay mediation as a substitute for reporting a suspected crime or protecting the child. Serious abuse and sexual exploitation require referral to the proper authorities.

DSWD online reporting page

For a non-emergency online incident, the DSWD maintains a web-based reporting form. It asks for details such as the platform involved, the type of conduct, and relevant links or identifiers. The page states that anonymous reports are accepted, although the site logs the reporter’s IP address to detect malicious reporting.

Do not use an online form when the child needs immediate rescue. Call 911 or contact the police and social welfare office directly.

The online platform

Report the account or content through the platform’s child-safety, sexual-exploitation, impersonation, or non-consensual-intimate-image process. Request removal and save the platform’s acknowledgement or case number.

Platform reporting can limit further circulation, but it should not replace a report to Philippine authorities when a child may be at risk or a crime may have occurred.

What information should you give?

Give what you know; do not delay because some details are missing. Useful information includes:

The child’s name or identifying description, approximate age, and present location
Whether the child is safe right now
The suspected offender’s name, account name, relationship to the child, location, and access to the child
What happened, when and where it happened, and whether it may still be happening
The child’s exact words, as closely as you can remember them
Any injuries, threats, weapons, coercion, payment, travel plans, or other children at risk
Website addresses, usernames, profile links, account IDs, phone numbers, email addresses, group names, and dates and times
Transaction references, e-wallet accounts, bank details, remittance records, delivery records, or game-account identifiers connected with the incident
Names of possible witnesses
Steps already taken, including medical care and reports made to a school, platform, barangay, police unit, or social worker

Separate facts you personally observed from information another person told you. If uncertain, say so. A good-faith report should be accurate and focused on protecting the child, not exaggerated or posted publicly.

How to respond when a child discloses abuse

Stay calm and listen. A supportive first response can reduce fear and help the child obtain protection.

Say, “I’m glad you told me,” “This is not your fault,” and “I will help you get safe.”
Let the child speak in their own words.
Ask only the minimum questions needed to determine immediate safety, such as who, what happened, where, and whether the person can reach them now.
Do not ask leading, accusatory, or repeated questions.
Do not make the child demonstrate what happened.
Do not promise absolute secrecy. Explain that you must tell people whose job is to protect children.
Write down the child’s words and the date, time, place, and people present as soon as possible.
Do not arrange a confrontation, controlled chat, entrapment, or meeting with the suspect yourself.
Avoid making the child repeat the account to relatives, school personnel, or community members who do not need the information.

The Supreme Court’s Rule on Examination of a Child Witness is designed to obtain reliable evidence while minimizing trauma. Trained authorities may conduct a child-sensitive interview, and courts may use measures such as a guardian ad litem, support person, interpreter, or other protective arrangements when legally appropriate.

Preserve evidence without spreading abusive material

Preserve information in a way that protects the child and does not create additional copies of illegal content.

For messages and online activity

Keep the original phone, computer, or account available.
Do not delete conversations, accounts, call logs, emails, or payment records.
Record URLs, usernames, account IDs, dates, times, phone numbers, and the names of groups or channels.
Preserve ordinary chat screenshots showing the account identity, context, date, and time. Avoid cropping, annotating, or altering the originals.
Save threatening messages, demands, meeting instructions, and transaction receipts.
Note when content was first discovered and who handled the device.
Keep platform-report confirmations and police or helpline reference numbers.
Change passwords and secure accounts when necessary for safety, but first document relevant identifiers and tell investigators what changes were made.

If sexual images or videos of a child are involved

Do not forward them to relatives, teachers, reporters, group chats, or your own email. Do not upload them as proof to an unofficial service. Do not deliberately reopen, repeatedly view, download, or create extra copies.

RA 11930 criminalizes conduct including knowing transmission, distribution, possession, and willful access. Tell law enforcement where the material is located and let trained investigators preserve and examine it through lawful procedures. If a reporting system operated by the government or platform specifically requests an attachment, follow its instructions and submit only what is necessary through that official channel.

For physical injury or sexual assault

Seek medical care promptly. Preserve existing medical records, prescriptions, photographs taken for treatment or documentation, and the names of attending personnel. Do not clean or alter objects solely for evidence if they can be safely left untouched, but never delay urgent treatment or compromise the child’s comfort and safety to preserve evidence. Ask medical or law-enforcement personnel how any clothing, bedding, or other potential evidence should be handled.

Who may report or file a complaint?

Anyone may alert the proper authorities about suspected abuse. Reporting is different from serving as the formal complainant in a criminal case.

For offenses under RA 11930, a complaint may be filed by the child, a parent or guardian, specified relatives, social workers and child-caring institutions, local social welfare officers, barangay officials, law-enforcement officers, certain concerned citizens, or any person with personal knowledge of the circumstances.

RA 7610 has its own list of persons who may file complaints for offenses under that statute. Because the correct filing rule can depend on the offense, a concerned person should still make the report and allow the police, social worker, and prosecutor to identify the proper complainant and documents.

A child’s or parent’s later affidavit of desistance does not by itself require dismissal of an OSAEC or CSAEM case. RA 11930 directs prosecutors to oppose dismissal on that basis and penalizes conduct that unduly pressures a complainant to execute such an affidavit.

Is there a reporting deadline?

Do not wait. Immediate reporting gives authorities a better chance to protect the child, stop continuing abuse, preserve digital records, identify other victims, and obtain medical evidence.

The 48-hour statutory reporting rule is not a universal deadline that gives everyone two days to wait. Article 166 of the Child and Youth Welfare Code, Presidential Decree No. 603, specifically requires hospitals, clinics, other treatment institutions, and private physicians to make a written report within 48 hours from knowledge of a maltreated or abused child.

Teachers, school administrators, public officials, law-enforcement personnel, social workers, and other professionals may have separate reporting and referral duties under laws, agency rules, employment policies, or professional standards. An internal report to a supervisor or school child-protection committee should not delay an emergency call or referral to law enforcement and social welfare.

A delayed disclosure should still be reported. Children may remain silent because of fear, threats, shame, dependence on the offender, family pressure, or lack of a safe adult. Delay does not automatically make a disclosure false. Time limits for prosecuting offenses vary according to the charge and facts, so obtain legal advice instead of assuming that an older incident can no longer be pursued.

What happens after a report?

The response depends on the child’s safety, the suspected offense, and the available evidence. It may include:

Emergency response or removal from immediate danger
Referral to a city or municipal social worker
Safety and risk assessment
Medical or psychological assessment and treatment
A child-sensitive investigative interview
Collection and lawful forensic examination of devices or other evidence
Preparation of statements or affidavits
Referral to the prosecutor for inquest or preliminary investigation
Protective custody, temporary shelter, or another safe placement when necessary
Continuing counseling, education, legal assistance, and reintegration services

RA 11930 requires law-enforcement agencies to initiate investigation upon receiving statements or affidavits from victims, families, or other knowledgeable persons. It also provides for services including emergency shelter, counseling, free legal assistance, medical or psychological care, livelihood or skills support, and educational assistance when applicable.

A report does not guarantee an arrest, prosecution, or conviction. Authorities must establish the facts and follow constitutional and procedural safeguards. Ask who is handling the case, what the next safety step is, and how to provide additional information.

Protect the child’s privacy

Do not post the child’s name, photograph, school, address, family details, screenshots, medical information, or story on social media. Do not identify the child indirectly by naming the accused and describing a recognizable family relationship or location.

RA 11930 requires confidentiality throughout investigation, prosecution, and trial. It prohibits disclosure of information tending to identify a child victim and bars undue publicity that may cause further suffering. RA 7610 and the Supreme Court’s child-witness rule provide additional confidentiality protections.

Share information only with people who need it for protection, treatment, investigation, or legal proceedings. Use initials or neutral descriptions in personal notes that others may see, while giving complete information directly to authorized responders.

Common mistakes to avoid

Waiting for complete proof before reporting
Warning or confronting the suspected abuser
Asking the child to repeat the story to many people
Blaming the child for meeting someone online, accepting gifts, or sending an image
Promising that no one else will be told
Deleting the child’s account or messages before recording identifiers
Forwarding sexual content “for evidence”
Posting accusations or identifying information on social media
Accepting payment, an apology, or a family settlement in place of safety action
Assuming abuse cannot occur because the suspect is a parent, relative, respected professional, or another child
Treating a school or barangay investigation as a replacement for police and social-welfare referral
Giving the child back to a household where the suspected offender has access
Pressuring the child or family to withdraw the report

When legal help is urgent

Consult a lawyer, the Public Attorney’s Office if eligible, or a qualified child-protection organization promptly when:

The suspected offender lives with or has custody of the child
A parent or guardian refuses to protect the child
Authorities plan to return the child to an unsafe home
The child or reporter is being threatened, followed, bribed, or pressured to withdraw
Sexual content is spreading rapidly or an offender is demanding money
A warrant, device examination, custody dispute, protection order, or cross-border investigation is involved
A school, institution, or government office refuses to document or refer a serious report
The child is being asked to sign a statement they do not understand
The case involves several possible offenses or conflicting accounts
The abuse happened years ago and prescription or evidence-preservation issues may arise

Legal counsel can help with affidavits, protective measures, prosecutor proceedings, custody questions, and coordination with investigators. In OSAEC cases involving a foreign offender or overseas platform, report locally; RA 11930 provides for cooperation between Philippine and foreign law-enforcement authorities.

Frequently asked questions

Can I report if I only suspect abuse?

Yes. Explain the facts or warning signs that created the concern and distinguish them from assumptions. Authorities—not the reporter—decide whether the information justifies investigation or protective intervention.

Can the child report without a parent?

Yes. The child may seek help directly from 911, MAKABATA 1383, the police, NBI, a social worker, barangay official, teacher, doctor, or another trusted adult. This is especially important when the parent or guardian may be involved or unwilling to act.

What if the offender is also a minor?

Report the incident and protect both children from further harm. The affected child remains entitled to protection and services. If the alleged offender is a child, the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act governs how authorities must handle that child. Do not conduct your own interrogation or publicly identify either child.

What if the child sent the image voluntarily?

Report it without blaming or punishing the child. RA 11930 treats a child who creates self-generated sexual material as a victim rather than an offender. The person who groomed, coerced, obtained, possessed, accessed, or distributed the material may still face investigation.

Should we pay a person threatening to release images?

Prioritize immediate safety and contact law enforcement. Payment may not stop publication and may lead to further demands. Preserve the threat, account information, payment instructions, and transaction details, but do not negotiate or arrange an entrapment without police direction.

Can I make an anonymous report?

The DSWD online reporting page states that it accepts anonymous reports, although it logs IP addresses. Other agencies may ask for contact information or a sworn statement before certain investigative or prosecutorial steps can proceed. If revealing your identity creates a safety risk, tell the receiving agency and ask what confidentiality or witness-protection measures are available.

Will the child have to face the accused in court?

Not necessarily in the ordinary manner. Courts apply child-witness protections intended to minimize trauma while respecting the accused’s rights. The available arrangement depends on the case and a court order.

What if the abuse happened a long time ago?

Report it. A delayed disclosure can still be investigated, and the applicable prescriptive period depends on the offense, dates, victim’s age, and other legal rules. Do not assume that delay prevents a case.

Is a medical examination required before reporting?

No. Report first if safety is at risk. Medical assessment can document injuries and provide treatment, but the absence of an examination or visible injury does not automatically disprove abuse.

Official legal and government sources

This article provides general Philippine legal information, not advice for a particular case. Procedures and legal consequences depend on the facts, evidence, child’s safety, and applicable offense. Official sources and reporting channels were checked as of September 8, 2026.