THE MAYOR of Igbaras town, Iloilo has sought to stop hate comments online against 17 individuals who visited a tourist spot on Thursday despite the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
Mayor Jaime Esmeralda told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Friday that he summoned the ECQ violators to his office and discovered that two of them are minors.
The violators are all from Tigbanaba village and it took them at least an hour to reach Mt. Napulak, a tourist spot in the province. Esmeralda said they rode motorcycles to reach the mountain.
They asked permission from a village councilor to bring farm fertilizer “but they have other reasons for the hike,” he said.
“I am concerned because they posted photos online (Facebook) and they were bashed. Some of them are minors who still belong to the vulnerable sector and I am afraid that the hate comments will affect them,” he said.
The local government unit had already turned over the two minors to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for proper custody. Those who are of legal age, meanwhile, were turned over to Igbaras Municipal Police Station.
“They will be reprimanded and not penalized. We don’t have provisions in our executive order that penalizes these violators but we will monitor them so that they will not repeat what they did,” he said.
Esmeralda, who is also a medical doctor, appeals to the public to stop hate comments at it can leave psychological harm. Even those of legal age can be affected by the hate comments, he added.
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