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Ending Bullying

Bullying has been a silent menace that has plagued many children for a very long time, but with the Anti-Bullying
Act now signed into law by President Benigno Aquino III, schools nationwide are now empowered to combat bullying
and are given a clear picture on how to curb the early onset of the culture of violence among children.
Almost everyone who attended school has a tale of their own playground nemesis, and all will affirm that the
danger and trauma bullying brings is unbearable. It can be enough to disrupt a child’s life, turn a student’s world
upside down, and cause serious harm often lasting into adulthood. Worse, it can drive one to commit suicide.
So far, reports of “bullycide” have only been heard in foreign countries such as the United States, the United
Kingdom, Japan and other advanced countries. However, the statistics of bullying in the country today are alarming.
In a study of Plan International and Unicef on Violence Against Children in Public Schools in the Philippines in 2009,
it revealed that four out of 10 children in Grades 1 to 3, and seven out of 10 in both Grades 4 to 6 and high school
have experienced some kind of violence in school. And the numbers are still increasing today.
Good that Senator Edgardo Angara and other principal authors of the bill legislated a law that will stamp bullying
in schools. At least for now, we are assured that the police will never receive reports of teenagers hanging themselves
in their bedrooms in attempts of escaping their tormentors.
Educating the Filipino learner, Angara said, means giving them all the tools they need to succeed, from simple
things to the more complicated peace of mind that comes with knowing that the school stands with them against
bullying. And this is what the law emphasized, that schools, as the second home of the children should be their
strongest ally against any forms of abuses, both from their peers and even from their teachers.
While the law empowers schools in responding the occurrence of bullying and in taking measures to rehabilitate
the bullies, the fact that this is a community problem entails community support. Even peers who are only typically
involved as bystanders have also a share in making the law work. When peers support the targeted child or express
disapproval of the bullying child, bullying usually subsides. But they just only share a little piece of the pie. The
greatest support mechanism still rests on the parents who have immediate supervision to their children.
As what childhood bullying expert Cherie Benjoseph asserts, bullying is a parental-control issue and that taking
responsibility for young ones is a full-time parental-guidance system that cannot be governed by law nor can it usurp
parental example, education or practices.She stressed that as the school creates a child-friendly school climate, the
parents need to rear their children in a non-violent environment.
Even DepEd Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro claimed that parents have the most important tool that legislation
cannot deliver – close monitoring and supervision. This does not take too much time and effort; it just only entails one
to simply read carefully the child’s material in school so they can reinforce the message at home or by just determining
the early signs of bullying like depression, school avoidance, or social anxiety.
However, the duty of the parents does not stop there, it extends to reporting the incidence to school authorities to
solve the problem, otherwise the child will be scarred for life, or worse he will be involved in continued bullying as
adult in the future.
The Anti-Bullying Law is more than just words; it is a promise to every Filipino child. It is a declaration that we
will not condone harassment, nor will we be bystanders in the presence of intimidation. For so many schoolchildren
across the country, the law is a lifeline. But it will remain as a law in paper forever if we resist doing our share in
ending bullying.

The Excelsior
Third Place in Editorial Page
NSPC 2013, Olongapo City