CHILDREN need guidance on how to use mobile phones and social media safely from the time they first use them, a child protection advocate said at a Cebu City convention on preventing abuse and exploitation.Francisco Dizon, vice president and trustee of the Laura Vicuña Foundation (LVF), said more children now have access to technology, but their understanding of the risks may not have kept pace.Speaking on the sidelines of the Buddies Reject Abuse, Violence and Exploitation (#iamBrave) National Convention at the Cebu Coliseum on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, Dizon said adults should help children make sense of what they see online.Online safetyDizon said what children see on Facebook and Instagram, as well as the information they get from artificial intelligence tools, can shape how they think.“I’m not saying they shouldn’t use it, but they should be trained on how they should use it, how they should process the data that they’re seeing here,” he said.He said children need to learn to recognize harmful content and tell when someone is trying to persuade them to do something they do not fully understand.Dizon said the #iamBrave movement encourages young people to reject abuse, violence and exploitation by helping them recognize their own worth and their right to be treated with dignity.He said legal protections are only part of that work. How people treat one another matters, too.“It’s our basic humanity that we’re trying to (promote). It’s not so much as legalistic, but what are we as human beings? What’s our value and how we should treat each other?” he said.Cebu launchThe foundation, run by the Salesian Sisters, brought together students from schools across the Philippines for the Cebu launch of the movement.The campaign invites students to become Brave Buddies who speak up about abuse and support other children who experience it.Sister Ma. Victoria Sta. Ana, the foundation’s managing director, welcomed the participants, and Sister Chantal Mukase gave the keynote address.In her address, Mukase spoke about the pressures young people face, from online risks and bullying to violence, stress and mental health concerns.The gathering gave her hope, she said, because the students could help protect one another.That role, Mukase said, reflected the teachings of St. John Bosco, whose approach to education centered on reason, religion and loving-kindness.For Bosco, she said, guiding children meant treating them with gentleness and showing them love in ways they could feel.Mukase urged the youth leaders to speak up when they witness abuse and look out for one another so every child feels safe and valued.John Christopher Castillo discussed doomscrolling and mental health, while Fr. Marvin Labasan spoke about child protection from a religious perspective. Jowie Reyes discussed Filipino values and practices, Marjorie Fulgueras-Go addressed legal issues and Kalachuchi Caballes discussed gender.Public school outreachDizon said the LVF hopes to reach more public school students, who may face different risks.The foundation plans to invite them to a gathering in December, he said.The LVF, said Dizon, also hopes to bring the campaign to other parts of the country so more students can learn how to recognize and speak up about abuse.Students who attend the gatherings can share what they learn with classmates, friends and others in their communities, he said.Shelter and trainingThe LVF began working with children on the streets of Manila in 1990. Its work has since expanded to include the care and recovery of children who have experienced sexual abuse.Dizon said the foundation runs a residential facility for children referred by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.Social workers and other staff care for the children while they continue their schooling online, he said.Dizon said children often know the people accused of abusing them and some are relatives. Residential care gives the children a place to stay away from their alleged abusers, he said.The facility can accommodate up to 50 children at a time, according to Dizon.The foundation also runs a school in Victorias City, Negros Occidental, where senior high school students learn cookery, housekeeping, sewing, information technology and basic bookkeeping.Hotels, restaurants and other partner companies provide on-the-job training to prepare students for employment.In Palawan, the foundation runs a farm school that offers agricultural training. / CAV
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