Raffy Tulfo tackled the bullying issue in the Philippines
Senator Raffy Tulfo is concerned about the increasing number of bullying cases in the country, some of which even lead to su!cide, despite the existing Anti-Bullying Act of 2013.
During the hearing of the Senate Committee on Basic Education on March 16, Tulfo cited the case of a student with a disability who reportedly ended his life after jumping from the fourth floor of the Quezon City Memorial High School.
Based on the report from Abante News, the mother of the student said that her child was allegedly bullied before the drastic incident happened.
The initial report from the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) stated that the child lost his life due to the fall. Senator Raffy Tulfo pointed out the mother’s claim that her child was bullied, which led to the latter’s decision to end his life.
“Talagang nakakabahala na ang sitwasyon. Sa kabila ng umiiral na Anti-Bullying Act of 2013, ito pa rin ang ating kinahaharap na realidad,” the lawmaker said. Tulfo also lamented that the Philippines remains the “bullying capital of the world,” with an estimated one in three Filipino students experiencing bullying every day.
Reports stated that from 1,158 cases recorded in 2013, the year when the law was passed, the numbers rose to over 20,000 cases in 2018.
“Imbes na makatulong ang batas, lalo pang tumaas ang mga insidente ng pambu-bully. We are utterly failing. Ano ang ginagawa ng DepEd? Saan nagkukulang ang batas?” Tulfo pointed out.
For this reason, Tulfo proposed several measures to prevent bullying in schools. These are in line with the proposed amendments contained in his filed Senate Bill No. 441.
His recommendations include strengthening the implementation of the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013; imposing stricter penalties on schools that fail to act promptly in bullying cases; installing CCTV cameras in schools; mandatory trainings and seminars for teachers and parents, including online options for OFW parents; mandatory counseling and psychological support for students; as well as strengthening Good Manners and Right Conduct (GMRC).
The Senator also proposed increased security in schools through a Memorandum of Agreement between the DepEd and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for roving police officers around schools, and implementing an effective anonymous reporting system for bullying complaints.
Sen. Raffy Tulfo pointed out that this was not the first time that they discussed bullying, and there was already an existing law on this, but he asked why it seemed that nothing is changing, and the situation even worsened. He added that there is no better to at on this but now.