Sexual harassment is, was, and will never be okay. This has to stop and celebrities are taking action because all women deserve to be respected. Period.
Just last week, a former child star who’s now a teenager, Xyriel Manabat, received lewd comments on one of her photos simply because of her bust size. However, she emphasized that it wasn’t flattering at all. In fact, she described it as “below the belt” and reminded everyone that “sexual harassment is never OK.”
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And this afternoon, fellow Kapamilya star Liza Soberano finally took matters into her own hands after being sexually harassed online, too. The actress apparently received rape threats after calling out internet provider Converge for their service, which PLDT allegedly took the opportunity as a marketing stunt to replace her internet connection with a very fast and reliable one.
Because of this, many of PLDT’s subscribers say they are playing favorites and found her tweet to be insensitive to the struggling Filipinos in the midst of a pandemic. Liza then explained in a thread on that she didn’t mean to brag, and even called on internet providers to step up their service.
But here’s where the real issue rose. It was also in the same thread that Liza mentioned an employee of her former internet provider who divulged personal information. More than that, Liza also retweeted on September 20, a screenshot of a comment from an internet saying, “wala tayong magagawa, wala ng trabaho, kaya ‘di bale ng masira ang image, magkapera lang. Sarap ipa-rape sa mga…ewan!” Netizens named and implied that the commenter is an employee of Converge.
“It sounded like ‘Wala na daw akong trabaho. So I can do anything I want, ‘di bale na raw masira ang image ko tapos masarap ipa-rape,” the actress explains to ABSCBN news. Clearly, she found the remark truly upsetting and below the belt.
According to her legal counsel, such a remark made in a post on Facebook is a violation of Section 4(c)(4) of Republic Act. No. 10175, otherwise known as the “Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012,” in relation to Article 355 of the Revised Penal Code.
So, let this be a lesson to everyone—whether male or female—to always respect others even in any online platform. “I know that everybody is entitled to their own opinion, that is true, but at some point, you have to be respectful to others online,” Liza Soberano emphasizes. And in fact, it’s really high time for every Filipino to stop objectifying anyone at all. It is not right, and will never be right.
Let’s keep our social media a safe space for everyone, and pass the same standards of ethics and morals to the next generations so they won’t experience the traumas of our generation. And to anyone who was and will be harassed, please seek help and have courage. There will be people behind your back and one of which is the Women and Children Protection Center.
