Politician wants to make ‘ghosting’ a criminal offence and have abusers ‘punished for causing emotional cruelty’

Some argue that the country has bigger problems to deal with right now

A politician in the Philippines wants ‘ghosting’ to become an official crime, with perpetrators punished for emotional cruelty.

For those who don’t know, ‘ghosting’ is the act of completely cutting communication with someone without any explanation and it normally happens between two people who were initially showing romantic interest for each other.

Now, Arnolfo Teves Jr, a member of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, argues that ‘ghosting; is “a form of spite that develops feelings of rejection and neglect”.

The proposed bill was put forward last month, though only shared to the public this week, the The Washington Post reports. It says the act should be punished but doesn’t suggest exactly how.

The document, entitled “An act declaring ghosting as an emotional offence,” sees Teves argue that, thanks to technology, “the realm of dating has changed exponentially compared to previous years” seeing people cutting ties abruptly and unsympathetically.

Have you been "ghosted" by someone?

Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo Teves, Jr. filed a bill declaring "ghosting” as an "emotional offense." He says "ghosting" is when someone cuts off communication with friends, partners, and alike without real closure. pic.twitter.com/Vv56IQJbMg

— ONE News PH (@onenewsph) July 26, 2022

“The ambiguity with ghosting is that there is no real closure between the parties concerned”, the document explained, “it can be likened to a form of emotional cruelty.”