Bantay Bata, the hotline to report child abuse, was a new thing in the Philippines. Televisions were filled with many advertisements telling people to call “163.”
My cousin Evan was only five years old when he saw these commercials. When his mother scolded him, he picked up the telephone and, without dialing anything, said to the receiver, “Hello, Bantay Bata? Pinapagalitan ako ng nanay ko!”
More My Awesome Filipino Family:
- Apple’s Childhood Crush
- Apple’s Great Escapes
- Conversations With Lola: Aling Dionisia’s Illness
- Finding Ja
- Ja and Apple: The Violent Little Kids
- Jeremy the Little Indian Giver
- Jeremy Threw a Rock at Me
- My Mother’s Top Five Weird Habits
- Playing Around the Coffin
Check out my other blog categories.
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