Blog Post 3: Bullying in the Philippines

There are different cases of bullying all over the world. Though our general problem is corruption, here in the Philippines we are no different; we also have cases of bullying.

In the article written by Helen Flores from The Philippine Star (July 28, 2014), http://www.philstar.com/metro/2014/07/28/1351137/1700-cases-bullying-reported

“MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Education (DepEd) documented more than 1,700 cases of child abuse and bullying in school year 2013-2014 after Republic Act 10627, the Anti-Bullying Act, was passed last year. However, the DepEd said 60 percent of these cases have already been resolved. Education Secretary Armin Luistro said violence takes many forms – peer-to-peer bullying, gender-based discrimination, physical assault, psychological punishment, public ridicule, and sexual harassment. “Bullying and other forms of violence in schools should be viewed not just a school problem but as societal problem as well,” he said. Luistro said RA 10627 paved the way for a heightened awareness against child abuse. It has helped advance the DepEd’s Child Protection Policy (CPP) through the creation of Child Protection Committees in school divisions, he added.”

Little do we know that most public schools here in the Philippines also experience bullying. Fortunately, we have “Anti-Bullying Act of 2013” RA No. 10627, “AN ACT REQUIRING ALL ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS TO ADOPT POLICIES TO PREVENT AND ADDRESS THE ACTS OF BULLYING IN THEIR INSTITUTIONS”

“The Anti-Bullying Law was formally signed by President Aquino on September 12, 2013. As an educator, Luistro considered the signing of the IRR of the Anti-Bullying Law as one of DepEd’s biggest achievement last year. The Philippines is one of the first nations in the world to even come up with a law on bullying including features of cyber-bullying,” Luistro said earlier. “It is an imperfect law and the IRR will not be able to anticipate all the problems and challenges but, I think it is a milestone,” he said.”

Yes, we are the first to implement a law on bullying and it helps a lot of victims because they will be able to stand up and speak out.

October 22, 2013, just one month after implementing the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013, a worst incident of bullying happened in Malabon, Philippines.

According to the reports from Gus Abelgas, TV Patrol http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/10/21/13/bullied-boy-left-fighting-life

“A 9-year-old boy from Tanong Elementary School in Malabon is in critical condition after he was allegedly bullied by his classmates. Fred Aston Mendoza, a Grade 4 student, is currently confined in the Philippine Children's Medical Center after undergoing surgery. The victim's mother, Vilma Santos Mendoza, said her son had bruises when he went home last Friday. "Hinabol daw siya, tapos hinubaran, yun yung pagkakwento po niya. Tapos pinagsusuntok na siya sa tiyan, sinipa," she added. Later that night, the boy suffered from high fever. When he was brought to the hospital, it was found out that he was suffering from internal bleeding in his liver. Fred underwent surgery Saturday. One of Aston's classmates also narrated how the victim was bullied. "Pinagtatadyakan siya dahil nang-iinis si Aston," said one of the victim's classmates. School authorities have called the parents of the two children involved in the incident. It has only been a month since President Aquino signed RA 10627, or the Anti Bullying Act. Fred's case is only one of the many cases of bullying in Malabon, police said. Malabon police have recorded 7 recent cases of bullying in the city. Authorities are keeping tabs on schools with numerous cases of bullying.”

A situation like this, parents should extend their support to their children. They should teach their children how to act in this kind of situation. 

"One traumatic bullying experienced can create and leave a never-healing scar that lasts forever." - Ty Howard

References: http://www.gov.ph/2013/09/12/republic-act-no-10627/

http://www.mb.com.ph/deped-school-officials-are-liable-for-violation-of-anti-bullying-law/

Blog Post 2: Types of Bullying

Have you ever experienced being bullied? When you think about bullying what do you imagine? Punching, teasing, or hitting a weaker person?

According to the article by Charlie Bentson King from http://ezinearticles.com/,

"Bullying in schools is a national epidemic. It affects the ability of kids to learn and adapt socially. Victims develop social problems that affect them the rest of their lives and in extreme cases can lead to suicide. They frequently lose interest in school and become poor students and in some cases even drop out to avoid the abuse. We owe it to our kids to prevent bullying whenever and wherever we can. To accomplish this, schools need a bullying prevention program that can recognize behaviors and step in to control the situation before it becomes tragic. All kids deserve a place free of fear to learn. The first step in prevention is to understand the types of bullying."

He said that in order for us to prevent bullying is to be knowledgeable about it. I definitely agree because if we want to help a person we must first understand what is the problem.

Most people didn’t know that there are different kinds of bullying. The most common type of bullying base on my observation nowadays is cyberbullying. Let’s explain further about the types of bullying that we encounter daily.

In this article written by Suzanne Peck from http://www.parents.com, she explain further the four common types of bullying which are physical, verbal, relational, and cyber bullying. The article tells you what it is, give example, and let us know how to spot the signs and what to do in a specific type of bullying.

First is verbal bullying, it involves teasing, insults or name-calling in a negative way.

Here is the example from the article, When a child says to another child, 

"You're really, really fat, and so is your mom." – this is a form of verbal bullying, I know for some it can be a simple tease but some children might be really hurt and become moody and others lose their confidence.

The second type is the easiest to identify, physical bullying. Many of us may have witness a form of physical bullying. Conferring to the article,

“Physical bullying, or bullying with aggressive physical intimidation, involves repeated hitting, kicking, tripping, blocking, pushing, and touching in unwanted and inappropriate ways.”

Relational Bullying is common on girls, example of this is, 

“A group of girls in dance class keeps talking about a weekend sleepover and sharing pictures, treating the one uninvited child as if she were invisible.” – This really happens every day and the effect last longer especially on girls. They tend to become loner and feeling unappreciated and often feel they don’t belong.

In this century where we live in a techie world this type of bullying is widely seen all over social media. How to spot the signs a person is being cyber bullied according to the article,

”Watch to see if your child spends more time online (visiting social media pages or texting) but appears to be sad and anxious afterward. Even though she's reading painful things on her computer, tablet, or phone, this may be her only social outlet. Also take note if she has trouble sleeping, begs to stay home from school, or withdraws from activities she once loved.”

Take note that some cases of this may lead to committing suicide because of the embarrassment and because it’s on social media, everyone can see with just one click away.

Being bullied is not just a simple thing that we can say it just a pace in life that you have to deal with, It can be case to case basis, it depends on the person and it can be a serious matter that has a negative effect in their entire life. We must be aware and knowledgeable to take action if we encounter a type of bullying situation.