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| One of the photos that prompted the Consulate’s advisory. |
By Daisy CL Mandap
The Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong has posted a public advisory
against the sharing of indecent or obscene photos on social media in the wake
of the spread of pictures of two women migrants showing off their butts while on
a hike in Shatin last Sept. 29.
The pictures emerged over the past two days of the women shedding off their undergarments to show their butts as they posed at the edge
of a cliff, with their hands held up high to make a “V” sign.
Another photo showed the two as well as a third woman
pulling at each other’s shorts to expose their butts while going up a hill.
Just ahead of them was a man.
A couple of photos emerged of the two also straddling a
stream, but those in the know said these were fake, as the hike did not involve
walking through water.
Also fake was a widely shared photo showing the incident supposedly
featured in the TV show “Sumbong at Aksyon” by host Raffy Tulfo. A dead
giveaway was the ungrammatical Tagalog caption.
Unconfirmed reports say the display was part of a “Butt
Challenge” among hikers that has been going on for sometime.
The “fun hike” reportedly started as part of the regular activity
of the group, Domestic Workers Corner, to encourage newly arrived migrant
workers to engage in some form of exercise on their day off.
A picture showed a big group of about 50 hikers posing with
the DWC banner just before the trek to Lion Rock Park
But what happened after was something that DWC founder and
co-administrator Rodelia Villar said was unknown to, much less, sanctioned by
her group.
“Wala kaming kinalaman doon, kaya lahat kami nagulat nang
kumalat ang mga litrato,” she said. “Maraming
hindi members ang nadaanan nila at sumali, pero bandang huli ay
naghiwalay-hiwalay sila. Yung mga nasa litrato ay nauna, at iilan lang sila. Pero
dahil madami ang sumama hindi na namin alam kung sino ang member at sino ang
hindi.”
Villar said she was saddened by the spread of the photos,
but was also alarmed that the hikers chose to strip down during what was
supposed to be a wholesome activity.
But she said, “Nakausap po namin ang nasa larawan at sila ay
humingi ng paumanhin.”
She also appealed to everyone not to spread the pictures
which she said were lifted off a group chat without permission from the owner.
In its advisory posted earlier on Oct 3, the Consulate said
that “posting or unloading obscene or indecent photos or videos of oneself or
of other people is a crime in Hong Kong ,” for
which the maximum penalty is $1,000 fine and three years’ imprisonment.
However, no warning was made about the crime of indecent
exposure, for which the penalty for one found liable is a fine of $1,000 and a
jail term of six months.
It was the second such warning from the Consulate this year.
Earlier, it was prompted by the spread of pictures of nearly-nude Filipinas
taking part in a sleazy beauty contest in Wanchai.
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