De Lima, Enrile urge review of anti-bullying law
Published Dec 27, 2018 02:44 pm
By Mario Casayuran
Opposition Senator Leila de Lima and former Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile asked for a review of Republic Act 10627 or the Anti-Bullying Law and suggested changes that would give the law more teeth in dealing with future instances of bullying.
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
“Obviously, there is a need to revisit Republic Act No. 10627,” Enrile said, following the dismissal by Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) officials of a junior high school student beating up another student in a viral video.
Opposition Senator de Lima called on authorities to seriously probe the occurrences of bullying to find out its root causes.
A known human rights defender here and abroad, De Lima underscored the importance of knowing why bullying happened in the first place to find ways that would prevent it from happening again. “This isn’t schoolyard bullying, this sounds like expert-level sadism. He learned it from somewhere,” she said.
“And that’s the important thing to investigate: where or why is a child so young exposed to such level of abuse? Is there abuse in the family? In his circle of relatives? At school? Among his peers? From figures of authority?” she asked.
Enrile said he would push for a thorough study of the case to lay the groundwork for amendments. The first step is to restudy the present law. `’Second, I have to study the facts of each of the incidents that so far happened violating the law. Third, I have to hear the concerned parties. Only then will I be able to craft the necessary amendatory legislation,” Enrile said.
He also said that Ateneo’s efforts to prevent the further spread of the viral video would not be effective. “I do not think the desire of Ateneo de Manila to stop the spread of the video will fly. That would seriously curtail the freedom of the people to inform and to be informed,’’ he said.
In an earlier statement on his Facebook page, Enrile admitted that he was also a victim of bullying as a second year student in high school at Aparri, Cagayan.
“One morning, when I was on my way to my classroom on the second floor of our school building, four older male students rushed out of a door behind me and attacked me with their knives. I was completely taken by surprise and surrounded. I dropped my books and parried their assaults with my bare hands,” he recounted, adding:
“To save my life, I managed to jump out of a window. Upon landing on the ground below, blood was oozing from the right side of my neck, my left arm had a long and ugly cut, my belly was ripped, and my shirt and pants were red with blood.”
After the incident, Enrile said he filed charges against his attackers, who, he said, were “kids of some members of the board of trustees of the school” and had “all the lawyers in town” while he had no lawyer. As a result, his case was later dismissed and he was even expelled from school.
`“This incident defined the course of my life. I wanted to be an engineer because math was easy for me, but I shifted to law because of the injustice I had suffered,’’ he pointed out.
“Parents should inculcate to their children the virtue of kindness to others, especially those who are deprived and powerless. To the young people: learn to exercise charity to your neighbors, especially the weak and needy. Do not use your gift from God -- your keen mind, your physical strength, your affluence, your power, or whatever to take advantage or dominate others,” explained.
De Lima cited several videos of the same student showing him verbally and physically assaulting another teen inside campus. One of the videos showed the student asking his schoolmate to choose between “bugbog o dignidad?” only to later proceed to beating up the latter when he refused to answer the question.
To highlight the possible effects of bullying, De Lima cited the Boston Globe Spotlight Team documentary entitled “Gladiator” which showed how a young, gifted athlete turned from being a high school varsity hero, to a multi-million dollar professional athlete, to becoming a multiple murderer and, eventually a suicide victim.
“It revealed an abusive childhood, and an environment that was inclined to overlook his violent tendencies and psychological issues in favor of his athletic abilities,” she said, adding that the actions of children are a mere reflection or manifestation of the things happening in society.
“If a child does something ‘bad,’ we have to ask where it is coming from,” she maintained. “Especially when they do something this unthinkable. Ang hirap isipin kung saan mapupulot ng isang musmos na bata ang linyang: Bugbog o dignidad?”
“Clearly, he knows that a person’s dignity is important enough to be held hostage, and at least at par with a person’s physical well-being that it would be difficult for his victim to make a choice,” she added.
In investigating bullying incidents involving children, the former justice secretary reminded that the goal is “to end the cycle of bullying” and not to shame the bully. “When we face incidents of bullying, especially involving children, there is only one legitimate goal: to stop the bullying. It is not to seek retribution. It is not to shame and punish per se,” she said.
“To merely pass judgment is counterproductive: society – especially social media – wags and points an accusatory finger, the child gets defensive, the parents get defensive, the victim might get some relief, but it doesn’t solve the underlying problem,” she said.
De Lima said parents should remain accountable to their child’s behavior, especially if it involves other kid/s, saying that children “are human beings that parents have a responsibility to raise as well-adjusted and productive members of society.”
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
“Obviously, there is a need to revisit Republic Act No. 10627,” Enrile said, following the dismissal by Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) officials of a junior high school student beating up another student in a viral video.
Opposition Senator de Lima called on authorities to seriously probe the occurrences of bullying to find out its root causes.
A known human rights defender here and abroad, De Lima underscored the importance of knowing why bullying happened in the first place to find ways that would prevent it from happening again. “This isn’t schoolyard bullying, this sounds like expert-level sadism. He learned it from somewhere,” she said.
“And that’s the important thing to investigate: where or why is a child so young exposed to such level of abuse? Is there abuse in the family? In his circle of relatives? At school? Among his peers? From figures of authority?” she asked.
Enrile said he would push for a thorough study of the case to lay the groundwork for amendments. The first step is to restudy the present law. `’Second, I have to study the facts of each of the incidents that so far happened violating the law. Third, I have to hear the concerned parties. Only then will I be able to craft the necessary amendatory legislation,” Enrile said.
He also said that Ateneo’s efforts to prevent the further spread of the viral video would not be effective. “I do not think the desire of Ateneo de Manila to stop the spread of the video will fly. That would seriously curtail the freedom of the people to inform and to be informed,’’ he said.
In an earlier statement on his Facebook page, Enrile admitted that he was also a victim of bullying as a second year student in high school at Aparri, Cagayan.
“One morning, when I was on my way to my classroom on the second floor of our school building, four older male students rushed out of a door behind me and attacked me with their knives. I was completely taken by surprise and surrounded. I dropped my books and parried their assaults with my bare hands,” he recounted, adding:
“To save my life, I managed to jump out of a window. Upon landing on the ground below, blood was oozing from the right side of my neck, my left arm had a long and ugly cut, my belly was ripped, and my shirt and pants were red with blood.”
After the incident, Enrile said he filed charges against his attackers, who, he said, were “kids of some members of the board of trustees of the school” and had “all the lawyers in town” while he had no lawyer. As a result, his case was later dismissed and he was even expelled from school.
`“This incident defined the course of my life. I wanted to be an engineer because math was easy for me, but I shifted to law because of the injustice I had suffered,’’ he pointed out.
“Parents should inculcate to their children the virtue of kindness to others, especially those who are deprived and powerless. To the young people: learn to exercise charity to your neighbors, especially the weak and needy. Do not use your gift from God -- your keen mind, your physical strength, your affluence, your power, or whatever to take advantage or dominate others,” explained.
De Lima cited several videos of the same student showing him verbally and physically assaulting another teen inside campus. One of the videos showed the student asking his schoolmate to choose between “bugbog o dignidad?” only to later proceed to beating up the latter when he refused to answer the question.
To highlight the possible effects of bullying, De Lima cited the Boston Globe Spotlight Team documentary entitled “Gladiator” which showed how a young, gifted athlete turned from being a high school varsity hero, to a multi-million dollar professional athlete, to becoming a multiple murderer and, eventually a suicide victim.
“It revealed an abusive childhood, and an environment that was inclined to overlook his violent tendencies and psychological issues in favor of his athletic abilities,” she said, adding that the actions of children are a mere reflection or manifestation of the things happening in society.
“If a child does something ‘bad,’ we have to ask where it is coming from,” she maintained. “Especially when they do something this unthinkable. Ang hirap isipin kung saan mapupulot ng isang musmos na bata ang linyang: Bugbog o dignidad?”
“Clearly, he knows that a person’s dignity is important enough to be held hostage, and at least at par with a person’s physical well-being that it would be difficult for his victim to make a choice,” she added.
In investigating bullying incidents involving children, the former justice secretary reminded that the goal is “to end the cycle of bullying” and not to shame the bully. “When we face incidents of bullying, especially involving children, there is only one legitimate goal: to stop the bullying. It is not to seek retribution. It is not to shame and punish per se,” she said.
“To merely pass judgment is counterproductive: society – especially social media – wags and points an accusatory finger, the child gets defensive, the parents get defensive, the victim might get some relief, but it doesn’t solve the underlying problem,” she said.
De Lima said parents should remain accountable to their child’s behavior, especially if it involves other kid/s, saying that children “are human beings that parents have a responsibility to raise as well-adjusted and productive members of society.”