French news agency tags Facebook post on anti-bullying law as fake

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 “that the Republic Act 10627—anti-bullying legislation that became law in 2013—gives people the right to seek financial compensation from anyone who calls them fat.”

The post includes a photo with an edited text which said: “Pag sinabihan ka ng mataba, may karapatan kang kasuhan o singilin siya ng 15,000 thousand – RA10267.”

https://www.facebook.com/547690748766504/posts/883057001896542/

Republic Act 10627 was signed by then-President Benigno Aquino III in September 2013 to “address cases of bullying in elementary and secondary schools,” AFP noted.

However, AFP debunked the Facebook post regarding the compensation aspect of the law. The AFP said that the law “does not contain any provisions allowing victims of bullying to demand financial compensation.”

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 “fake news.”

“This 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,” Shielo Mendoza, Angara’s media relations officer, said.

The AFP noted that under the law, “the penalties for bullies range from written warnings to expulsion from school and are adjudicated by head teachers.”

“There is no mention of financial compensation for victims,” it added,

Meanwhile, the Department of Education (DepEd) said that “the law did not enable victims of bullying to seek financial compensation.”

“Under Republic Act 10627, there’s 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,” Tonisito Umali, undersecretary for legislative liaison office, external partnerships service and school sports, told AFP.

“There’s nothing there, what’s only stated there are administrative sanctions against school administrators, suspension of permit to operate for schools that failed to comply,” Umali added.

The “misleading” Facebook post, the AFP noted, has garnered nearly 60,000 shares since it was posted on September 28. /jpv