Cyberbullies' latest victim

We stand by the family of "Kuya" Kim Atienza in this sad moment in their lives following the demise of their daughter Emmanuelle, known by her social media influencer name "Emman." We understand that Emman had passed away at the very young age of 19, an apparent victim of those deadly scourges of modern times - cyberbullying and online harassment.

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As a father of two teenage daughters, I share both the grief and the anger of Emman's family, as well as the prayer that her death would not end up as another meaningless tragedy in that increasingly violent, dark world called social media.

Senator JV Ejercito took the first step in this direction. He recently filed the "Emman Atienza" bill, or the "Anti-Online Hate and Harassment Act." Currently, laws have been passed to protect people from this scourge. Among them are the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, which includes a section on cyber libel; the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013, which includes provisions addressing bullying in elementary and secondary schools; and the Safe Spaces Act, which expanded the scope of sexual harassment to include online platforms.

Two other laws have been passed to protect people from psychological and emotional violence. These are the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act of 2009 and the Anti-Violence against Women and Their Children Act of 2004.

Senator JV's legislative initiative is expected to add teeth to existing laws and curb the spread of this practice, as well as prompt social media sites to take immediate action against various forms of bullying and hate speech. The lawmaker's proposed law also directs social media platforms to preserve the data for use in court action against the perpetrators of cyberbullying.

Senator JV said cyberbullying "causes real-world pain."