Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Friday, January 20 called for a stricter enforcement of the law penalizing bullying, especially in the country’s schools.

Gatchalian is referring to the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013 or Republic Act No. 10627, which he said is becoming alarmingly predominant in schools contributing to poor learner performance.

Citing a study conducted by De La Salle University Professor Dr. Allan Bernardo, the senator said raising the quality of Philippine education should go beyond improving the curriculum by also focusing on the welfare and safety of students and school personnel.

The study noted that based on the results of the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), poor readers have high exposure to bullying and a low sense of belonging.

The PISA study also show that compared to their peers from other countries, Filipino learners are the most exposed to bullying.

The study show that among the 15-year-olds who participated in the international large-scale assessment, 65 percent have said they experienced bullying at least a few times a month. The same study further show that learners who reported being threatened scored 56 points lower in Reading compared to those who had no or less frequent experiences.

“Kasabay sa pag-angat ng kalidad ng edukasyon ang pagtiyak sa kaligtasan ng ating mga paaralan at mga mag-aaral (At the same time as raising the quality of education, ensuring the safety of our schools and students),” Gatchalian said.

“Kung nais nating matiyak na magiging mahusay ang ating mga mag-aaral, mahalagang masugpo natin ang bullying at matiyak nating ligtas ang espasyo ng mga paaralan (If we want to make sure that our students will do well, it is important that we stop bullying and make sure that the school space is safe),” the Senate Committee on Basic Education chief said.

The lawmaker also reiterated that the role of the Child Protection Committee (CPC) at the school level in the prevention of bullying is important.

Under the DepEd Order No. 55 s. 2013 or the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the anti-bullying law, the CPC is mandated to handle and resolve bullying cases in public and private schools.

Thus, Gatchalian said, the Department of Education (DepEd) should make sure that all schools have established their CPCs as originally mandated by DepEd Order No. 40 s. 2012.

At the same time, Gatchalian reiterated the need to ensure that parents, students and school staff are aware of their responsibilities when it comes to anti-bullying efforts.