DSWD CHIEF WANTS RAPS FILED VS GROUP WHO MOCKED ELDERLY PWD

SOCIAL Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian directed concerned agency officials to coordinate with the local government unit (LGU) of Antipolo for the filing of a criminal case against a group of men who made fun of a female senior citizen, as shown in a video that has since gone viral.

 “We will work with the Antipolo City LGU in filing a case against the group of four men who made fun of the senior citizen who is also a person with disability. This is a very cruel act and those responsible should be charged in court,”  Gatchalian said.

The DSWD chief directed Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao to send a team that will assist the elderly female PWD who was the subject of mockery by four men in Bgy. Dela Paz in Antipolo City, Rizal on the night of March 31.

Dumlao, the DSWD spokesperson who is also with the special concerns of the  Office of the Secretary (OSEC), said those behind the mockery of the senior person with disability are liable under Republic Act 9442 or An Act Amending RA 7277 otherwise known as the “Magna Carta For Disabled Persons.”

“Elderly people, especially when they have disabilities, should be respected and given the care they deserve by their families and the community where they belong,” Dumlao said.

Under RA 9442, the verbal or non-verbal ridicule and vilification against PWDs entails penalties of a fine of not less than P50,000 or imprisonment of not less than six months for the first violation.

For any subsequent violation, a fine of not less than P100,000 but not exceeding P200,000 or imprisonment for not less than 2 years but not more than 6 years, or both at the discretion of the court.