The Department of Education (DepEd) on Friday, Jan. 12, confirmed that it has recorded over 170 cases of bullying which included physical and verbal bullying as well as cyberbullying.
In the data released by the Learner Rights and Protection Office (LRPO), DepEd said that as of Jan. 11, there was a total of 178 cases of bullying reported to the LRPO.
The data was gathered from the Learners TeleSafe Contact Center Helpline (LTCCH) from Nov. 24, 2022. The LTCCH, DepEd said, serves as the “venue where learners, teachers, parents, and stakeholders can report learners protection concerns for assistance, intervention, and referral to appropriate offices for immediate action.”
Of the 178 bullying cases reported, DepEd said 40 incidents were bullying in general; 27 incidents of cyberbullying; 83 incidents of physical bullying; and verbal bullying- with 28 incidents.
As stated in DepEd Order No. 55 s. of 2013 or the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 10627 otherwise known as the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013, the term bullying refers to “any severe or repeated use by one or more students of a written, verbal or electronic expression or a physical act or gesture, or any combination, thereof directed at another student that has the effect of actually causing or placing the latter in a reasonable fear of physical or emotional harm or damage to his property.”
Bullying, DepEd noted, also results in “creating a hostile environment at school for the other student, infringing on the rights of another student at school, or materially and substantially disrupting the education process of the orderly operation of a school.”
DepEd defined bullying as “any unwanted physical contact between the bully and the victim like punching, pushing, shoving, kicking, slapping, tickling, headlocks, inflicting school pranks, teasing, fighting and the use of available objects such as weapons.”
Any act that causes damage to the victim's psyche and/or emotional well-being can also be considered “bullying,” as per DepEd.
Moreover, bullying also constitutes “any slanderous statement or accusation that causes the victim undue emotional distress like directing foul language or profanity at the target, name-calling, tormenting and commenting negatively on the victims looks, clothes, and body.”
Cyberbullying, on the other hand, is “any bullying done through the use of technology or any electronic means.”
DepEd said that term shall also include “any conduct resulting the her harassment, intimidation, or humiliation, through the use of other forms of technology such as, but not limited to, texting, email, instant messaging, chatting, internet, social media, online games, and other platforms or format.”
Bullying, DepEd said, also refers to “any other form of bullying as may be provided in the school's child protection or anti-bullying policy, consistent with the Act and its IRR.”
Meanwhile, DepEd noted that the term bullying also includes “social bullying” which refers to any “deliberate repetitive and aggressive social behavior intended to hurt others or to belittle another individual or group.”
“Gender-based bullying,” on the other hand, refers to an act that “humiliates or excludes a person on the basis of perceived or actual sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI).”
For the term “bullying in general,” DepEd said these refer to cases wherein the “complainant merely mention that he or she has been bullied without specifying the acts which constitutes bullying.”
The LTCCH is still waiting for the report from the school to determine the acts before defining the type of bullying,” DepEd.
For a better reporting system, DepEd said it has also “instructed the regions to submit their reports on bullying and other forms of abuses on a quarterly basis.”
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