Numerous netizens expressed their anger and concern when a photo of a toddler being forced to drink alcohol by his father became viral online.
The father said it was just iced tea
The photo was first posted last July 11 on Facebook by one of the father's friends, 19-year-old Jason Lasmarias. 2 days later, it was shared by a Facebook page named Pinoy Abroad TV. The photo received over 1000 reactions, and was shared over 18,000 times by netizens.
In the photo, the child's father, a 20-year-old named Jake, can be seen making his toddler drink what looks to be alcohol from the bottle.
The photo received mixed reactions, with a number of the netizens saying that the father should be punished severely for making his child drink alcohol, while others said that the father probably just wanted to become popular, so he staged the photo of his child drinking 'alcohol'.
Jake maintains that he wasn't making his child drink alcohol, and that it was just iced tea inside the bottle, but one concerned citizen recognized the area where the photo was taken, and reported him to the authorities.
Charges could be filed against them
According to Lea Japson, head of the Cebu City Department of Social Welfare and Services, they will be checking the child, and will check to see if they would be filing charges against the father as well as his friend, for violating Republic Act 7610, which protects children from child abuse, exploitation, and discrimination.
She added that she will be working closely with the DSWD office in Visayas in order to determine if the DSWD will have to intervene in the matter.
Meanwhile, Jason and Jake were brought to talk to the barangay gender and development focal person, as well as a social worker and held a conference with both of them. Jason and Jake said that they will be issuing a public apology through Facebook because of the incident.
Hopefully, the pair will have learned their lesson about posting similar controversial images online.
Source: facebook.com, sunstar.com.ph
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