There’s a fairly new type of viral videos spreading on the Internet which involves a guy grabbing the hands of unsuspecting women in public who then receive gratification from recording their reactions. Netizens call it “Galawang Hokage” or “Galawang Breezy”. While some people find it amusing, a person in their right mind would think that this is disrespectful and can be considered a form of harassment.
The first Galawang Breezy or Hokage video I saw was pretty much harmless and can still be considered amusing as it only involves real couples or friends – a prank, sometimes scripted, with a romantic theme. See video below.
However, things turned evil when the prank evolved into something more daring and is now directed towards unsuspecting women in public places like malls. The method is simple, the person who will initiate the act will set-up his camera for recording, scout for a potential victim (normally an unaccompanied female), follow or wait for her in a certain location (tantamount to stalking), and hold her hand without consent (tantamount to lasciviousness). Watch videos below.
GALAWANG BREEZY! HAHAHAHAH!GALAWANG BREEZY! NA BEAST MODE SI ATE!!!video by: xdkenning
Posted by Random Thoughts on Sunday, February 7, 2016
Although the women in the videos showed different reactions to the situation, it is obvious that they all felt violated. According to the Republic Act No. 9262, or the “Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004“, Section 3, acts of lasciviousness is considered as sexual violence while stalking is considered as psychological violence. To add to the injury, a lot of people find the videos amusing or entertaining.
UPDATE 1 (Feb. 17, 2016): As some readers have pointed out, RA 9262 covers “acts committed by any person against a woman who is his wife, former wife, or against a woman with whom the person has or had a sexual or dating relationship, or with whom he has a common child.” The above situation may fall under RA 7877 or the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995. In a report by PhilStar in July 2015, RA 7877 has been approved for amendment by the House of Representatives to expand “the scope of the law by including in the crime of sexual harassment any act that may be committed physically, verbally or visually with the use of information communication technology or any other means of technology within or outside the place of employment, training or education.”
UPDATE 2 (Feb. 17, 2016): Based on several legal comments, the only legal framework that would apply in this scenario would be Unjust Vexation under the Revised Penal Code.
We’re not lawyers so we’re not sure how the law will apply in this scenario and we haven’t heard of anyone charged because of these acts, but when women feel threatened, harassed, or abused so that someone can make a viral video, then it must be stopped and shouldn’t be patronized. Women are not tools for amusement.
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76 Comments
You call it harassment if they do it consecutively to the same individual, but this is like just “once”. I don’t see any harm being done. What if a girl does it instead of a boy? Ignore nalang?
This is a video meant to be a video just for laughs, whether it’s funny or not, deal with it.
#butthurtpeople #uselessarticle
Hygiene should be a concern too. I mean, who knows where those hands have been? Gross.
People, you do know that there’s a different side to these videos where it’s a girl that does those, for a lack of a better term, “galawang breezy”. So which RA would you think is applicable? Can you still call it harassment when a girl does it? Piece of advice to people like Louie that makes these kinds of articles, do proper research and get your facts straight.
i can’t wait for someone to try this on me so I can finally put my muay thai training to use.
Finally, someone said it! I remember making a blog post about this the first time I saw this stupid hokage move. This is not a hokage move, this is called being a manyakis.
kasi ang mga pukinang inang mag guwardiya sa mga mall ay mag INUTIL
yung mga wala namang ginagawang masama ang binabantayan yung mga kawatan hindi pinapansin
Para sa mga nagsasabi na harmless pranks, baka ndi niyo pa nakikita yun video ng isang lalaki na hinalikan yung babae. Take note, kasama nung girl yung bf niya.
Feeling niyo kasi nakakatawa or nakakatuwa pero sa totoo lang, nakakainis panuorin yung mga ganyan. Tapos pag nakitang napangiti yung babae, sasabihan na malandi or may discrimination sa reaction. Nakakahiya naman sa inyo, babae na nga yung nabiktima babae pa rin yung nahuhusgahan. ????
Good malalaman ko na kung magandang klase ba itong taser na nabili ko sa Lazada. May masasampolan na rin ako sa wakas.
It’s a fad. it’ll die out. Urging people to file cases will just burden the court system with more petty shit. In the end most will probably not even get filed, and rightfully so. Honestly annoying sya. But there are better things to worry about than this.
The women should really file complaints! It’s outrageous that you think it’s a petty thing to violate women’s rights. As you said, it’s annoying, but people shouldn’t do anything about it? Can you hear yourself? It’s more than annoying, it is alarming. Women should be able to feel safe on the streets without these harassers pestering them with their petty gimmicks to gain attention in the internet.
what if it evolved to something like up-skirting? will you say its only a fad and it will die out? and uploading these videos without the girls consent is already a violation of privacy. shitty thinking! smdh.
https://www.facebook.com/TeamTwoHats/videos/570259819817045/
isa nato sa mga videos!!! KAHIT makapanakit… para lang mag trending
Ang tunay na lalake lalo na kung PINOY, marunong rumespeto sa mga kababaihan sa LAHAT ng aspeto…hindi kasama dito ang mga BASTOS at mga MANYAKIS, bato bato sa langit ang tamaan may bukol!!!!
Kakilala ko yung isa sa mga naharass ng mga manyakis na yan. Kinilabutan sya sobra. Gusto nya makasuhan yung guy kaso natatakot sya mabash sa social media na KJ(killJoy), overreacting or nagmamaganda. Sana di na po pamarisan kasi madaming teens na tingin nila cool sya gawin at in. Feel nila nakakagwapo and astig sa kapwa nila mga lalake.
Ano ‘to “Just for Laugh Gags?” May respeto ka lang at mag isip ka ng matino kahit cguro kapatid mong babae, anak mong babae (lalo na kung nagdadalaga) o nanay mo di mo naman cguro basta basta hahawakan/gaganyanin db? Kapag ganito na asal natin PROUD TO BE PINOY pa rin kaya tayo?
guys, those who uploaded galawang hokage might be under cybercrime law in relation to revised penal code.
Ginagawa to madalas ng mga youtubers as a form of prank. Come on! These are harmless pranks. Try to watch youtube sometimes, may mas malala pa. How about yung ‘wow mali pa rin’ na show on TV5. Almost the same yung concept. There will always be a “victim”. At the end of the day, no one was hurt physically or emotionally. And if there was one, they can always file a complaint.
If we follow your logic, and it happened to your girlfriend, wife, daughter, or any female friend or relative, you’ll just say it’s “harmless”, “At the end of the day, no one was hurt physically or emotionally. And if there was one, they can always file a complaint”? and that you’re just a “victim”?
Almost every politician is corrupt but does that make corruption right? Don’t you know how to stand for what you know is right? (this statement is done under the assumption that you are not an idiot and you really do know what is right)
Wow Mali is a television show and the “victims” are properly compensated for their troubles. The organisers will not air the clips unless the victims explicitly allow them to. Moreover, these are properly controlled, well-managed TV segments. This “Galawang Hokage” bullshit, on the other hand, is not. It’s no different from catcalling. It’s not harmless; it’s harassment. It violates people’s personal spaces. In a way, it’s even worse than catcalling because these people actually go up to you and initiate physical contact. It CAN be funny to an extent, yes (especially if it’s between friends), but it’s still extremely invasive.
(And for the love of god, no one fucking say that if these girls don’t want to be subjected to do this, they should have more self-awareness. You know who should have self-awareness? These assholes who do stupid things like this. Have the self-awareness to NOT harass people, why don’t you?)
ULOL! PAKABOBO NAMAN NG COMMENT MO, PANG TANGAHAN LANG!
Hindi porke ginagawa ng karamihan ay tama na.
Ayan tayong mga pinoy eh. Pag ginawa ng katabi mo akala mo ok na?
So hindi rin ba ito fatal tulad ng traffic sa Manila?
What if may kasunod pala na boyfriend yung babae and all hell broke loose? Harmless pa rin ba?
I will skin you alive if you do this “harmless” prank to my girl
Try mo i-search ung Youtuber na hinuli mismo sa bahay nya dahil sa mga ‘pranks’ nya. Sarap mo i-prank pre.
I agree that these “Hokage” moves should stop. RA 9262 only applies if the perpetrator has or had a sexual or dating relationship with the victim. If the offender’s conduct resulted to annoyance, vexation, irritation, distress, torment, or disturbance of the mind of the offended party, the latter may file a case of unjust vexation (Art. 287, par. 2, RPC).
Buti na lang lumabas ito. As a father of two daughters I find this disturbing. Wala na talagang magawa ang mga jologs ngayon. Walang respeto sa privacy. Ang baba ng tingin sa mga babae. Akala mo mga walang nanay o kapatid na babae ang mga hinayupak na jolgs na yan.
Thank you so much for this article! This means a lot to every girls out there :)
Kapag walang itsura sinisipa haha, kapag meron kinikilig, asan hustisiya? hahahaha
Agree. May facial discrimination talaga! Hahaha!
San banda diyan yung may itsura?
https://www.facebook.com/xdkenning
the guy from the first vid
I don’t like being called a Hokage move D: It taints the good name of Hokage. Kawawa naman yung mga totoong Hokage nadadamay hahaha