Why guests wore blue ribbons at ABS-CBN Ball 2018

MANILA, Philippines – During the first ABS-CBN Ball at the Makati Shangri-La on Saturday, September 29, there was one “accessory” that caught everyone’s attention: blue ribbons pinned on each guest’s outfit. 

The blue ribbon moment wasn’t a fashion moment or, as the internet joked, a marker for which guests should be photographed (if you’re too young to remember a time before camera phones and cameras were affordable, this is a reference you won’t get). 

Blue ribbons have been used as a symbol to raise awareness about child abuse – fitting, since the ABS-CBN Ball aims to raise funds for the relaunching of the Bantay Bata Children’s Village in Norzagaray, Bulacan.

Bantay Bata 163, founded in 1997, is an ABS-CBN-affiliated organization that has various programs for children, including medical, educational, and psychological assistance.  

The story behind the blue ribbon is interesting, if not tragic. According to the US-based Child Abuse Prevention Center, the blue ribbon was first used as a symbol for child abuse awareness in 1989, when Bonnie Finney began wearing and using blue ribbons after her grandchild died at the hands of his mother’s abusive boyfriend.  

“Out of her tragedy emerged the Blue Ribbon Campaign, a national and community-based effort that serves as a reminder and a national symbol of the need to protect our children,” the site notes. – Rappler.com

Check out other stories from the ball:

• LIST: Who the stars wore to the ABS-CBN Ball 2018
• ABS-CBN Ball 2018: Fashion review
• LIST: ABS-CBN Ball 2018 winners
• Why guests wore blue ribbons at ABS-CBN Ball 2018
• Here’s how the stars prepped for the ABS-CBN Ball 2018
• IN PHOTOS: All the looks at the ABS-CBN Ball 2018
• IN PHOTOS: Reel- and real-life couples at the ABS-CBN Ball 2018
• LOOK: Sarah Geronimo, Matteo Guidicelli attend the ABS-CBN Ball 2018
• LOOK: Carlo Aquino, Angelica Panginiban at the ABS-CBN Ball 2018
• LOOK: Beauty queens at the ABS-CBN Ball 2018
• IN PHOTOS: Stars who went solo at the ABS-CBN Ball 2018
• LOOK: James Reid and Nadine Lustre slay at the ABS-CBN Ball 2018