Senator Robin Padilla said on Monday, February 13 that slight physical bullying can be tolerated unlike mental bullying which he said is deemed is a more serious form of harassment.
Padilla pointed this out during the continuation on the Senate Committee on Basic Education's hearing on the government's anti-bullying programs.
"For me, physical bullying is manageable. What is difficult to handle is mental (bullying). For me, that is what our children experience these days, the mental torture," Padilla said in Filipino during the hearing.
"I'm sorry but physical torture, for me, helped me, not only about facing life challenges. I think it helped me 20 or 30 percent," he said.
"But I think we need to face mental bullying. Maybe that is what we need to address but if it progresses to the point they want to kill you, that is it," he said.
"But those little push is ok," Padilla reiterated.
But Padilla said it is high time to strengthen the mechanisms against bullying in schools, especially when such bullying involves children of wealthy or powerful individuals.
Citing his experience, Padilla said bullying is rampant, especially incidents involving children of politicians or wealthy parents.
"Teachers are afraid to deal with them. That is why I am for strengthening our mechanisms to deal with them - the most brazen bullies are those with connections," he pointed out.
But Padilla said authorities should concentrate on addressing mental bullying, especially since more youths have access to smartphones and the internet as this may open the door to 24/7 bullying online.
"Challenges and Survival 101 is an everyday practice for a child," he said.