Senator Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, Senate chair of the education panel, proposed that the existing Department of Education (DepEd) anti-bullying measures in place be set with teeth—that swift, correctional action be implemented to mitigate rampant bullying.
“How do we go from being the bullying capital to having a zero-bullying policy? Unang-una, yung preventive—mahalaga ‘yan. Dapat alam ng mga tao na hindi dapat ito ginagawa,” Aquino said during a hearing.
He explained that to reduce bullying, the parents of students who bully others must be able to personally address their child’s behavior and be penalized for their harmful actions.
“And then yung parents, the parents need to be involved here. May nag-suggest online na baka daw yung magulang kailangan rin i-penalize kapag yung mga anak bully,” the lawmaker said.
Senator Rafael “Raffy” Tulfo backed the idea, adding that a possible penalty could be community service.
“Tama ka, Mr. Chair, dapat may parusa sa mga magulang. When I say parusa, siguro community service. Tapos ikaw maging janitor sa school,” Tulfo said.
In addition, Aquino stressed that bystanders to bullying incidents should be empowered to act in defense of the victim.
“Dapat hindi ganoon yung kultura natin. Yung kultura dapat natin, we step in kapag may inaapi. Dapat we step in right away,” he said, emphasizing that disciplinary action must be taken immediately after the incident, not weeks after.
Lawyer Razzel Ann Requesto said that DepEd is currently implementing capacity-building programs for teachers and students alike, to encourage them to be “upstanders” when witnessing bullying. Moreover, the education department is devising programs to prevent bullying through parental involvement, she added.
The Philippines has been singled out as the “Bullying Capital of the World,” said Aquino in a social media post, with 50 percent of fifth graders being subject to bullying on no fewer than one occasion monthly.
“Hindi ito simpleng istatistika—mga batang Pilipino ang nasasaktan, natatakot, at nawawalan ng gana sa pag-aaral dahil sa bullying. Kapag ang paaralan—ang lugar na dapat ligtas para sa pagkatuto—ay nagiging lugar ng takot, malinaw na may krisis tayong kailangang harapin,” he wrote.
