Senators have urged schools to strengthen anti-bullying protocols amid a string of violent incidents involving students, stressing the need for swift and effective measures to ensure safe learning environments.
They emphasized that protecting students from violence is not only a matter of school discipline but also of safeguarding their mental health and overall well-being. Lawmakers stressed that unless decisive action is taken, the cycle of fear and aggression in classrooms will only worsen.
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Rise in School Violence
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian expressed alarm over recent cases, including the beating of a nine-year-old Grade 3 student in Iligan City, who remains in intensive care. He said public and private schools should “lose no time in adopting and implementing their respective anti-bullying policies.”
“Principals and school heads are now fully responsible and accountable for all incidents within their institutions,” Gatchalian emphasized. “It’s time to act. Let’s earn back the trust that our schools are safe so that the students are able to learn without the fear of being bullied.”
Calls for Accountability and Security
Sen. Raffy Tulfo, vice chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, also voiced concern over recent violent incidents, including the August 7 shooting at Santa Rosa Integrated School in Nueva Ecija and the August 4 killing of a teacher in Lanao del Sur’s Balabagan Trade School.
Tulfo questioned the Department of Education’s (DepEd) ability to enforce its Child Protection Policy, citing gaps in preventing weapons from entering school premises. “You cannot use that as an excuse,” he told DepEd officials, rejecting claims that a shooter was able to bypass security by joining a crowd.
DepEd Undersecretary for Legal and Legislative Affairs Filemon Javier acknowledged the breaches and vowed stricter preventive measures, noting that schools have been instructed to heighten security.
Strengthening the Legal Framework
The calls from lawmakers come after the release of the revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013. The updated IRR enhances mechanisms for reporting, investigating, and addressing various forms of bullying, including cyberbullying and gender-based harassment.
“We will no longer allow the Philippines to remain the ‘bullying capital of the world.’ With the revised IRR now signed, schools must enforce stronger anti-bullying measures without delay,” Gatchalian said.
He added that anti-bullying measures must complement mental health initiatives under the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act, which he authored. “These efforts must go hand in hand with school-based mental health programs, the establishment of care centers in every school, and the presence of licensed school counselors nationwide,” he stressed.
Implications for Schools and Policy Enforcement
The senators’ statements underscore a broader challenge: ensuring that both policies and security measures translate into real-world safety for students and staff. Failure to effectively implement the revised IRR could not only perpetuate the culture of violence in schools but also erode public trust in the education system’s ability to protect children.
The heightened scrutiny may also push schools to invest more in counseling, values formation, and community engagement to address the root causes of bullying and violence.
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