DepEd vows to end school bullyingJune 7, 2013 10:08 pm

THE Department of Education (DepEd)) on Friday said it will strictly implement the proposed Anti-

Bullying Act once it was signed into law by President Benigno Aquino 3rd.

Jesus Mateo, DepEd assistant secretary for planning, said students should not be afraid anymore

because there is already a measure that will protect them from being bullied by other students at

school.

“We support it. We already have an anti-bullying in the existing DepEd Child Protection Policy (DO

40, s. 2012). We will further enhance the policy in accordance with the law,” Mateo told The Manila

Times.

The official also noted that they are not yet through drafting the implementing rules and regulations

(IRR) of the Anti-Bullying Act, but clarified that it will be implemented at the soonest time once

signed.

“Gagawin pa natin ang IRR. Pero tinitiyak po natin na ipapatupad po natin ito sa agarang panahon

sa lahat ng mga pampubliko at pribadong paaralan [We will work out the IRR.

We assure you that we would implement this at the soonest possibeltime in public and private

schools,” he said.

Under the measure, public and private elementary and secondary schools would be mandated to

craft regulations protecting students from being bullied by schoolmates.

The DepEd, according to Mateo, will impose administrative sanctions on school administrators who

would not comply.

A recent study showed that almost 2.5 million Filipino children are victims of verbal and physical

bullying.

Neil A. Alcober

http://www.manilatimes.net/deped-vows-to-end-school-bullying/7858/

DepEd, CHEd, LGUs adopt policies to reduce bullyingBy Linda B. Bolido

Philippine Daily Inquirer

3:19 am | Tuesday, November 13th, 2012

 0 641 54

The Department of Education (DepEd) and the media get reports of very serious cases of bullying at least once a week.The situation has prompted Education Secretary Armin Luistro to issue in May Department Order No. 40 or DepEd’s Child Protection Policy.

The order stressed DepEd’s “zero tolerance policy for any act of child abuse, exploitation, violence, discrimination, bullying and other forms of abuse…” The directive even contained a provision on cyberbullying. It outlined the responsibilities of different levels of DepEd offices, as well as concerned schools.With regard to existing cases like the highly publicized incident of a father threatening with a gun his son’s classmate at Colegio de San Agustin (CSA), DepEd, while not directly involved in the prosecution of the case, was closely monitoring its progress.DepEd’s Anna Cristina Ganzon explained the department could not be the “complainant” in the case but it was “assisting the complainants in securing documentary requirements.”She said, “As part of our supervisory function over private schools, it is our duty to see to it that laws and rules of DepEd are faithfully complied with by CSA. We have directed the school to report regularly on actions taken (and penalties imposed) regarding the case.”The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) said it monitored regularly the implementation of various student services in higher education institutions (HEIs) through its regional offices.“Reports are then submitted to the Office of Student Services for policy review and enhancement. (In partnership with other government and nongovernment offices), various orientation seminars are conducted to strengthen preventive education in the HEIs,” said Isabel F. Inlayo, director of CHEd’s Office of Student Services.CHEd also issued implementing guidelines for the creation of the student crime prevention councils in all HEIs and was enhancing the guidelines on student affairs and services program with the help of resource persons from government agencies and the academe. A public hearing on the revised guidelines will be held on November 22.Local initiativesLocal governments have also passed their own legislation on bullying and/or violence in school.In passing Ordinance SP-2157, Anti-Bullying Ordinance, the Quezon City government said it “recognizes and aims to put an end to the alarming problem of bullying among students.” The ordinance said bullying not only adversely affected the victim physically and psychologically, but also socially and emotionally.The city said the ordinance aimed to help instill discipline as one of the essential values students needed to become more productive, dynamic and industrious members of the community. The ordinance also aimed to protect the overall well-being of students within the school premises and their immediate vicinity.Under the ordinance, the school and its personnel are given special parental authority and responsibility over their students and their activities inside and outside the school and its premises. “With this, they are the ones principally liable for the damages incurred from acts of bullying, whereas parents or judicial guardians of students who have committed acts of bullying are held subsidiarily liable,” unless it was proven “that they exercised due and proper diligence.”Violations of the ordinance are punishable with imprisonment and/or fines.Bulacan passed Provincial Ordinance No. 2012-06 authored by Board Member Therese Cheryll Ople of the First District of Bulacan and Board Member Mark Jerome Anthony Santiago, Sangguniang Kabataan Provincial Federation president.“With the approval of the antibullying ordinance, all schools within the province, whether public or private, are hereby tasked to formulate guidelines, policies, rules and regulations against bullying which lately, according to reports, has reached alarming proportions,” the ordinance said.A provincial council, the Panlalawigang Konseho sa Pagsasawata sa Bullying, was also created. It will draw up policies and monitor and evaluate the implementation of the ordinance. The council, headed by Governor Wilhelmino Alvarado, is composed of representatives of DepEd and school organizations.Like the Quezon City ordinance, violations are punishable with a fine and/or imprisonment.San Juan in Metro Manila is also considering passing an antibullying ordinance, according to Councilor Angelo Agcaoili, in response to earlier reports of Sangguniang Kabataan that bullying in the city’s schools had also reached alarming proportions.Allan Bantiles, the father who threatened a CSA high school student, is facing revocation of his gun licenses by the Philippine National Police. The victim’s family is also planning to file a case in court against him.Court cases are also being readied against four female students of the Far Eastern University who stabbed and critically injured a visiting University of Santo Tomas co-ed. The police said all four suspects had already been identified.Charges have also been filed against suspects in two fatal fraternity hazing incidents involving San Beda College students. San Beda also expelled 27 of those involved in the latest incident, on the recommendation of an investigating committee.—With additional materials from Inquirer Research

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/306216/deped-ched-lgus-adopt-policies-to-reduce-bullying#ixzz2W4OHe4xY Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/306216/deped-ched-lgus-adopt-policies-to-reduce-bullying

DepEd: Both bully and victim need counselingJune 7, 2013 3:07pm

   11    31    0    76  

 

Tags: Department of Education

Rose [not her real name] may be a consistent honor student at a school in Quezon City. Yet she has

to endure the taunts of her classmates calling her rude names about her weight. 

 

She was called "baboy" or "botcha" by her classmates. During lunchtime, her classmate would even

pig out on her food just to tease her for being fat.

"Botcha ang tawag nila sa akin. Kasi po mataba daw po ako," Rose said in a report by JP Soriano

on GMA News' 24 Oras Thursday. [Botcha is a local term for contaminated meat of double-dead

meat.]

 

"Pag kumakain ka minsan 'yung pagkain mo kukunin nila (na) parang binababoy nila," she added. 

Rose is a victim of bullying.

According to the Department of Education's (DepEd) Child Protection Policy, bullying is "an act or

series of acts directed toward another student... which results in a physical and mental abuse,

harassment, intimidation or humiliation."

Rosa's guidance counselor, Vilma Pajac, expressed her concern over the child's welfare.

 

"May mga bata talaga na natatakot silang magsabi sa mga magulang, natatakot magsabi sa

teachers so sinasarili nila. Minsan hindi nakakaya ng mga bata (kaya) hindi niya alam ano ang

gagawin," she said. 

 

 

Alberto Muyot, DepEd's undersecretary for legal and legislative affairs, said both the bully and victim

need counseling. 

 

"Kailangan dito talaga, malaman ang problema at magkaroon ng intervention para 'dun sa bata at

pamilya. Maaaring magsimula sa counseling sa bata at perhaps counseling sa pamilya," Muyot said

in Soriano's report. 

 

The Education Department in its Child Protection Policy reminds parents to report to school

authorities if their child is being bullied.

 

The victim and the bully will then have to go through counseling, DepEd said.

 

Meanwhile, when bullying continues even after counseling, the bully may be suspended for a week,

according to DepEd's policy. 

 

A victim of bullies himself when he was young, Muyot assured parents and bullied children that they

are not alone in the crusade against bullying.

 

"Maraming mga bata na dahil vulnerable sila, sila ang nata-target. Pero hindi kayo ang may

kasalanan," he added. 

 

Parents may find more reason to fight against bullying, after the Senate passed a bill that seeks to

curb bullying incidents in the country. A House version of the bill was passed last December.

 

“The heart of this measure is the education of parents on bullying and to familiarize them with the

anti-bullying policies of the school. With that information, parents would have better choices which

schools to send their children,” said Senator Edgardo Angara, one of the authors of the bill.

 

Meanwhile, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, also the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines

president, welcomed the opening of classes by warning students against bullying just to be part of

the “in” crowd, according to a dzBB report on Monday.

The dzBB report quoted Palma as saying that bullying is un-Christian and not acceptable, stressing

that students should concentrate on their studies instead of picking on others.

 

He also urged students to think twice before joining fraternities and sororities, especially those linked

to hazing. —  Marc Jayson Cayabyab /RSJ, GMA News

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/311852/lifestyle/wellness/deped-both-bully-and-victim-need-counseling