The act of “ghosting” may soon be treated as an emotional offense, once the bill of Negros Oriental Third District Rep. Arnolfo Teves is enacted.
A bill has been filed at the House of Representatives seeking to declare ghosting — or abruptly cutting off contact with someone especially in romantic relationships — as a form of emotional abuse.
In his House Bill 611, Negros Oriental Third District Rep. Arnolfo Teves defines ghosting as “a form of emotional abuse and happens once a person is engaged in a dating relationship with the opposite sex which affects the mental state of the victim.”
“Ghosting is a form of spite that develops feelings of rejection and neglect. Ghosting has adverse effects on the mental state of the one being ghosted and his or her emotional state is still adversely affected as he or she will be constantly thinking of the welfare or the unexplained reasons of the one who ghosted,” he said in his explanatory note.
“The ambiguity with ghosting is that there is no real closure between the parties concerned and as such, it can be likened to a form of emotional cruelty and should be punished as an emotional offense because of the trauma it causes to the ‘ghosted’ party. In view of the foregoing, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought,” Teves added
The lawmaker, however, did not provide any penalty in the proposed measure for the act of “ghosting.”
The bill drew mixed reactions from netizens, with some criticizing its supposed absurdity and its timing.
It was also Teves who recently proposed to rename the Ninoy Aquino International Airport after the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. because of his false claim that it was built during the latter’s term as president.
Thumbnail photo made via Canva
