Netizens and celebrities lauded Kapamilya actress Liza Soberano for her move to file a criminal case against a netizen who made a rape remark about her and urged that jokes such as that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
On Twitter, netizens expressed their respect for the actress for fighting for women’s rights, as it might lead other women who feel abused to stand up.
Former Kapamilya Journalist Kevin Manalo hopes that Liza Soberano’s action will serve as a lesson to people who take rape as a light matter, “Rape should never be taken lightly. We say no to rape jokes, no to tolerance of rape jokes. Good on Ms. Liza Soberano for taking legal action against that person who threatened her with rape. May this serve them a lesson.”
Rape should never be taken lightly. We say no to rape jokes, no to tolerance of rape jokes. Good on Ms. Liza Soberano for taking legal action against that person who threatened her with rape. May this serve them a lesson.
— Kevin Manalo (@kevinmanalo_) September 24, 2020
Chief Executive Officer of Rappler, Maria Ressa also tweeted about Liza’s filing of a complaint.
“Liza Soberano says she won’t let rape remark pass.”
Liza Soberano says she won’t let rape remark pass https://t.co/QhoHwhujy3
— Maria Ressa (@mariaressa) September 22, 2020
Netizens also joined forces in admiring the actress and even created the #StandWithLiza to support Liza Soberano.
Liza filing a criminal complaint shows the reality that she’s a human too nd should not be treated badly.Problema sa mga tao they forget na tao rin ang mga artista kaya ang dali nilang magsend ng threats.They forget na may rights din ang artista to file a complaint #StandWithLiza
— ²⁴ (@lifewithlizquen) September 24, 2020
https://twitter.com/valentine121997/status/1309028121790877696?s=20
https://twitter.com/kyookie05/status/1309032147358027779?s=20
https://twitter.com/robbieacain/status/1309028987126063105?s=20
Meanwhile, her mother network, ABS-CBN, released an official statement showing support to their homegrown artist.
“We applaud Liza’s courage to protect her dignity as a woman. Let this be a lesson to everyone to be responsible in using social media and to be respectful to others,” ABS-CBN and Star Magic said.
READ: Statement on Liza Soberano pic.twitter.com/kcEyTvc0dq
— ABS-CBN PR (@ABSCBNpr) September 24, 2020
Liza Soberano’s manager Ogie Diaz is grateful for the support that Liza is receiving for the stand that she made, “Thank you sa inyong lahat. #StandWithLiza.”
Thank you sa inyong lahat. #StandWithLiza https://t.co/dtYxVuwqQS
— ogie diaz (@ogiediaz) September 24, 2020
Backed by Ogie Diaz, her manager, and Legal counsel Atty. Jun Lim, Liza Soberano officially filed a criminal complaint against a netizen who made a rape joke about her a few days ago.
According to Atty. Jun, the rape remark made by a netizen in a thread of comments in a post on Facebook is a clear violation of Section 4(c)(4) of Republic Act. No. 10175, otherwise known as “Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012,” in relation to Article 355 of the Revised Penal Code.
THIS JUST IN: Actress Liza Soberano files formal criminal case against the netizen who made a 'rape remark'. Liza was accompanied by her manager Ogie Diaz and legal counsel. pic.twitter.com/aBQ7aJpbXZ
— MJ Felipe (@mjfelipe) September 24, 2020
The actress admitted that the rape remark was truly upsetting and below the belt, “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.’”
“I was really upset because the fact that it is a rape joke, it is not something that should be taken lightly. And the fact that she is a woman, I would never in a million years do a joke like that,” she said.
