Screenshot of the post from Crowdtangle. (Courtesy of AFP Fact Check)
A viral Facebook post claiming that an anti-bullying law in the country enables victims to claim financial compensation is fake, the Agence France Presse (AFP) warned on Wednesday.
According to the French news agency, the Facebook post is claiming 鈥渢hat the Republic Act 10627鈥攁nti-bullying legislation that became law in 2013鈥攇ives people the right to seek financial compensation from anyone who calls them fat.鈥�
The post includes a photo with an edited text which said: 鈥淧ag sinabihan ka ng mataba, may karapatan kang kasuhan o singilin siya ng 15,000 thousand 鈥� RA10267.鈥�
Republic Act 10627 was signed by then-President Benigno Aquino III in September 2013 to 鈥渁ddress cases of bullying in elementary and secondary schools,鈥� AFP noted.
However, AFP debunked the Facebook post regarding the compensation aspect of the law. The AFP said that the law 鈥渄oes not contain any provisions allowing victims of bullying to demand financial compensation.鈥�
Screenshot from AFP Fact Check
The French news agency also said that the camp of one of the authors of the law, Senator Sonny Angara, dubbed the post as 鈥渇ake news.鈥�
鈥淭his is indeed a fake news. RA 10627 or the Anti-Bullying Law DOES NOT allow people to demand P15,000 payment or file a case against those who call them fat or overweight,鈥� Shielo Mendoza, Angara鈥檚 media relations officer, said.
The AFP noted that under the law, 鈥渢he penalties for bullies range from written warnings to expulsion from school and are adjudicated by head teachers.鈥�
鈥淭here is no mention of financial compensation for victims,鈥� it added,
Meanwhile, the Department of Education (DepEd) said that 鈥渢he law did not enable victims of bullying to seek financial compensation.鈥�
鈥淯nder Republic Act 10627, there鈥檚 no provision there stating that the offending parties or the guilty party may be required to pay civil damages for violation of said act or those who failed to comply with the said law,鈥� Tonisito Umali, undersecretary for legislative liaison office, external partnerships service and school sports,聽told AFP.
鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing there, what鈥檚 only stated there are administrative sanctions against school administrators, suspension of permit to operate for schools that failed to comply,鈥� Umali added.
The 鈥渕isleading鈥� Facebook post, the AFP noted, has garnered nearly 60,000 shares since it was posted on September 28. /jpv