Kapamilya actress Angelica Panganiban and Kris Aquino defended Angel Locsin after she was body-shamed in an Occidental Mindoro education module where she was called ‘obese.’
In the learning module, it was mentioned that Angel was an obese person who likes to eat fatty foods and watching television at home. The actress was also described as someone who doesn’t have any physical activities.
The photo of the module trended on social media which garnered negative reactions from netizens who defended Angel.
Angelica came to the defense of Angel when she wrote a comment on a report from the news website Rappler saying that her close friend Angel does not stay at home to watch television. She explained that the actress is busy with helping the Filipinos especially the people who have recently been affected by typhoon Ulysses.
“I don’t think nakaupo lang si Angel sa bahay niya at nanonood ng TV,” said Angelica.
She added saying that people should focus on the kindness of a person both inside and out.
“Busyng busy po siya tumulong sa mga nasalanta. Bakit hindi kayo dun mag focus? Sa kabutihan ng isang tao, lalo na ng kalooban niya,” she added.
Kris Aquino also decided to speak up regarding the body-shaming issue. She left a comment on the Instagram post of Angel about the said issue.
“i understand mahirap ang trabaho ng mga guro at kadalasan hindi sapat ang sweldo… pero ang budget ng DepEd ay galing sa mga Pilipino, mga nagtatrabaho at nagbabayad ng buwis ang nagbibigay pondo para sa DepEd, in other words- lahat tayo stakeholders dito,” she wrote.
She added saying that the teacher responsible for making the module is wrong for attacking Angel who she said was kind and helpful to people.
“May mali kung isang likas na matulungin sa kapwa ang ‘paglalaruan’ in the guise of ‘pagtuturo,'” she said.
“The person in authority (the teacher) is playing a significant role in shaping the values and character of his/her students,” she added.
The Department of Education (DepEd) has already issued an apology through Roger Capa, who is the DepEd division superintendent of Occidental Mindoro.
“We would like to express our sincerest apology to the concerned individuals who may have been offended or harmed by this incident,” he said.
“The Department of Education does not tolerate nor condone any act of body shaming, ad hominem or any similar act of bullying both in the physical and virtual environments.
“This Office had already communicated with the concerned teacher and gathered facts from him. Rest assured that this matter will be given serious attention,” he added.
Angel Locsin posted her reaction to the issue on her Instagram account where she wrote that DepEd seemed to show no care for the attitude of teachers towards their teaching to the students.
“What bothers me most is apart from teaching incorrect grammar to the students, DepEd seems unaffected that the said teacher is teaching bad conduct and sowing discrimination among the children,” she wrote.
“Anong mangyayare sa future kung ang mga kabataan ay tinuturuan ng pambabastos at pangungutya sa kapwa?” she added.
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Other celebrities also showed their support to Angel via Twitter.
Tony Velasquez said that the learning module made his blood boil.
This makes my blood boil 🤬 Who in the f**k wrote this, if ever it's real. It's like the writer ate a ton of bullsh*t and then threw it all up to call it a DepEd learning module. https://t.co/x9UGUEWUFk
— Tony Velasquez (@KakanTuring) November 13, 2020
“This makes my blood boil. Who in the f**k wrote this, if ever it’s real. It’s like the writer ate a ton of bullsh*t and then threw it all up to call it a DepEd learning module,” he wrote.
Singer Zsa Zsa Padilla showed her support to Angel saying, “Talaga lang?! Ang lala.”
Talaga lang?! Ang lala 😠 https://t.co/MZrJNeGife
— zsa zsa padilla (@zsazsapadilla) November 13, 2020
Comedian John Lapus also expressed his shock over the viral module and called out both the teacher and the Department of Education Secretary Briones.
La Briones @DepEd_PH ano na naman ito? Kaya pa La? https://t.co/dBBVm6vdiy
— John Lapus (@KorekKaJohn) November 13, 2020
“La Briones @DepEd_PH ano na naman ito? Kaya pa La?” Lapus wrote.
