Akbayan’s Cendaña, PWD advocates file NBI complaint vs influencers

AKBAYAN Party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña, together with Persons with Disabilities (PWD) advocates, today filed a complaint before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) seeking an investigation into numerous online posts that allegedly violate the Magna Carta of Disabled Persons and the Safe Spaces Act.

Cendaña, a stroke survivor and openly gay man, has been subjected to relentless online attacks ridiculing his facial features resulting from his stroke, alongside homophobic and other dehumanizing remarks.

Cendaña stressed that the complaint goes beyond his personal experience, calling on authorities to look into the broader problem of how PWDs are subjected to online bullying, harassment, ridicule, and discrimination.

“This is not simply about the attacks against me. Sa dulo, ito ay tungkol sa pagtrato natin sa persons with disabilities. No space or platform, online or offline, should ever be a venue to mock, humiliate, and dehumanize PWDs,” Cendaña said.

“No person, especially PWDs, should be made to endure constant humiliation online simply because people think there are no consequences for attacking them. We are asking the NBI to send a clear message: disability is not a joke, and dehumanizing PWDs is not a punchline,” Cendaña added.

The law, he stressed, must protect PWDs not only in physical spaces but also in digital spaces, where harassment and discrimination can spread rapidly and reach thousands of people.

“Madaling manghamak kapag nakatago sa likod ng screen. Pero ang social media ay hindi isang consequence-free zone. Kapag ginagamit ang isang platform para manghiya, mang-insulto, at mang-dehumanize ng PWD, dapat may pananagutan,” Cendaña said.

Cendaña’s complaint identified at least 30 online accounts whose posts allegedly violate Sections 39 and 40 of the Magna Carta of Disabled Persons, which prohibit the public ridicule and vilification of persons with disabilities, as well as Section 12 of the Safe Spaces Act, which penalizes gender-based online sexual harassment.

Among the accounts sought to be investigated are those of Cho Moreno, MP Miko Pogay, and Kiffy Chu. The complaint also asks the NBI to determine the identities of the individuals behind the accounts, investigate the alleged violations, and preserve the digital evidence contained in the posts.

Prior to filing the NBI complaint, Cendaña also submitted a letter-complaint to the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA), seeking action on the dehumanizing attacks directed at him and raising the broader issue of online harassment against PWDs.