Homeschooling, Schools

When DepEd Tayo Grabs a Photo From Your Blog and Uses it Without Consent

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When DepEd Tayo grabs a photo from your blog, LovinglyMama.com, and posts it as its own with a misleading caption, what do you do? It has been 8 days since they posted our photo, and despite comments and shares, the page has remained mum.

DepEd Tayo Grabs My Daughter’s Photo | Posted it Without Consent

Last August 14, 2020, a friend of ours tagged us in a post by DepEd Tayo dated August 12 because she recognized that the student in the photo is our eldest daughter Shawna. When we checked the FB post, true enough, it was my daughter’s photo answering a Math PACE!

Here is a screenshot of their post.

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~ Original post by DepEd Tayo — a Facebook page of DepEd. The quote was by Undersecretary Annalyn M. Sevilla. ~

Since we are a blogging family with many social media pages and the kids coming with us to events and trips, we live a pretty public life. So more than offended, hubby is even proud to see his daughter’s photo there.

In my case, I felt happy that my photo turned up in Google search. That means my SEO for my homeschooling and mommy blog is in place.

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But what troubled me was that, not only did DepEd Tayo post a minor’s photo without consent, they did so with a misleading caption. That’s tantamount to fake news.

What is DepEd Tayo

DepEd Tayo, it seems, is one of the social media accounts of DepEd Undersecretary Alain Pascua on Facebook. The page has close to half a million followers and is actively posting every day, sometimes several times a day.

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It has both a link for email and messenger—I chose the latter to reach out to them. My message was still unread after a day so I commented on one of their posts that was posted minutes before that I sent a message to them. That comment, along with my message, were not replied to.

Many People Were Triggered

With that post, many people were triggered, especially parents whose children are homechooling under the School of Tomorrow. Of course, those families who are using PACE would really recognize that the material being using by the model is a PACE and not a module from DepEd.

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Moreover, many people were angered that a government agency would use a minor’s photo without parental consent. They have also tagged the page of Undersectary Analyn M. Sevilla because that was a direct quote from her. Still, silence.

So, they encouraged me to take appropriate legal actions and to bring the issue to the Civil Service Commission. Frankly, I feel that’s too much, though I have every legal right to do so. I just feel that I don’t want to go through all that trouble.

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In my message, all I asked from them was that they correct their misleading caption and credit my blog post as the source. And by now, an apology.

Homeschooling for Years

We have been homeschooling Achi Shawna for 6 years now. Our second daughter Shane has also followed suit. Both our children are under the School of Tomorrow, so we are using the PACE.

Homeschooling has given us a pretty flexible lifestyle where the kids can travel with us any time of the year. We are also very liberated with our educational system.

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~ Many people were really triggered by the DepEd Tayo post. I have lots of post private messages. ~

So when Covid-19 broke out, we were not concerned about our children’s schooling because we have been staying home for years!

A Peaceful Resolution

I am not wishing for the person who did this to lose his or her job. I AM NOT EVEN DEMANDING COMPENSATION, though we deserve it. All I want is a peaceful resolution. But so far, none of those in that office related to DepEd Tayo has reached out to me. If they asked for my permission, I would even set up a more updated photoshoot with the kids.

Hopefully, in the interest of respect and truthful reporting, I am asking DepEd Tayo to edit their post. Otherwise, it looks like fake news. I am not even asking that they take it down because it has served its purpose about the no-uniform announcement for distance learners.

It is my sincere desire that DepEd Tayo and its social media managers will learn a high level of excellence in their reporting and posting. They are a government agency and should act accordingly.

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~ Homeschoolers be like. ~

Other Homeschooling Posts

Meanwhile, here are other posts about homeschooling that you might be interested in.

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6 thoughts on “When DepEd Tayo Grabs a Photo From Your Blog and Uses it Without Consent

  1. Alam.mo isasagot Ng gobyerno sayo? “Ang arte mo Naman, pinost mo nga online eh di public na Yan. Ayaw mo nun sikat na Kayo diba blogger ka Naman gusto nyo sumikat. ”

    Yes that’s how they are, I will be very much surprised if they even apologize.

  2. Napakawalang hiya naman talaga…Pede kasuhan ung ganyan mommy..Against nga sila sa PACES tapos ngayun gagamitin nila pic ni siobe..Ewan ko ba sa mga nakaupo jan sa DEPED..naturingang about sa Education pero walang mga utak..Nakakagigil

  3. Napaka bastos namaN Nila. Nag ga grab ng picture. Bakit hndi silaa mag provide ng Sarili nilang pictures. Wala pang pasabi. Sorry nng gigigil ako. 🙁

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