By Victor Siegfried R. D’lonsod, April Rose G. Torres and Trisha M. Yangan
The Anti-Bullying Act of 2013 was created hand in hand with the Child Protection Policy or DepED Order No. 40, s. 2012. The policy aims to protect the child from all forms of violence that may be inflicted by adults, persons in authority as well as their fellow students, especially bullying. Although this may be the case, the implementation of the law is still not as firm as one may think. This may probably be because of a number of different reasons but what comes to mind the most is that schools are not doing their best to comply with the law. This is where the researchers’ study comes into play; this study aims to know whether or not these schools comply with the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013. Through this study, the researchers found out that the most prevalent form of bullying in public schools is teasing, second to that is fighting. The researchers also found out through a conducted survey that most public schools really do comply with the Anti- Bullying Act, but one of the key informant’s interviews stated otherwise. This may be a case wherein the administrators of a school, in an effort to comply with something, would only comply for a short period of time and lose interest half way. This was further supported by the interviewee, a teacher with 35 years of experience, saying that their school doesn’t have a direct approach regarding these cases and that parents are usually missing from action in PTA meetings when this issue is tackled. The researchers recommend to the local government of Bacolod City, that there should be a clear ordinance or a regulation made by them in order to strengthen the act and must be well designated to every school in Bacolod. The researchers also recommend that the author of the said law will provide or add more provisions under which the school will really be force to take it seriously. Such that, having a school psychologist is a must and also the law should include the parents of the students in activities and training provided for the teachers and must also be held liable for negligence.
INTRODUCTION
” Bullying or victimization is a person being bullied or victimized when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and overtime, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons” ( Huesmann, 1994). “It is a negative action when someone intentionally inflicts, or attempts to inflict, injury or discomfort upon another” (Olweus, 1973).
Children experienced harassment as it is stated in various literary works and adult personal experiences during their school days proves “bullying among school children is certainly a very old phenomenon”, Bullying gained public attention during 80’s and early 90’s indicating growing societal and study interest into the perpetrator or the victim (Huesmann, 1994). Some people stated that this is necessary and normal in the growth of a child but what they may not take into account is the emotional and mental damage that the child suffers throughout this time. This may hinder a child’s growth and persist into adulthood. Although effects of bullying are not physically present, the serious effects manifest in a different manner. Victims of bullying suffer from depression, anxiety, increased feelings of sadness and loneliness. There are even multiple cases of bullying wherein victims lead to commit suicide. This is the reason why a bill was passed to provide further protection for children from threats that stem from within the academic institution (Le Menestrel, 2016).
The House of Representatives in the Philippines has approved a bill that requires all elementary and secondary schools to adopt policies that prevent bullying or any other kind of violence in schools. This bill requires schools to include the anti-bullying policies. The schools then submit to the Department of Education after six months upon the effect of the law, and any incidents should be reported immediately, and in case of absence of the policies in any school, there is a sanction that falls on the school’s administrators (Bullying in the Philippines, 2016).
Section 2 of Republic Act No. 10627, also known as “Anti-Bullying Act of 2013,” refers to bullying as 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 reasonable fear of physical or emotional harm or damage to his property, creating a hostile environment at school for the other student; infringing on the rights of the other student at school; or materially and substantially disrupting the education process of the orderly operation of the school; such as, but not limited to any unwanted physical contact between the bully and the victim, any act that causes damage to the victim’s psyche and or emotional well-being, any slanderous statement or accusation that causes the victim undue emotional distress and cyber-bullying.
All public and private elementary and secondary high schools shall comply with the said Republic Act. Section 3 states that “All elementary and secondary schools are hereby directed to adopt policies to address the existence of bullying in their respective institutions.” Non-compliance of the law will be given due sanctions under Sec. 6 of the Republic Act No. 10627, which states that, the Secretary of the DepED shall prescribe the appropriate administrative sanctions on school administrators who shall fail to comply with the requirements under this Act. Private High Schools will likewise be penalized by suspending their permits to operate.
After the implementation of the Republic Act 10627 in the Philippines (Anti-bullying Act 2013) in the Philippines, “Bullying cases on elementary and high school of both private and public schools on 2014 rose by 21% or a total of 6,363 cases compared with the 5,236 on 2013” (Santos, 2015). Still, 31 average cases of bullying daily were recorded by the Department of Education. The Philippine Star then added that the cases of bullying in the Philippines might be higher than the average recorded cases if all students will be brave enough to report their bullying experiences. Furthermore, all school administrations should monitor children who are being bullied and children who are bullied in their institutions (Diaz, 2015).
This topic was chosen by the researchers, since the law is still in its adoption stage where schools must comply in a span of four years. The researchers wanted to find out if the action taken in order to lessen and to prevent bullying in school premises has been absorbed thoroughly by the personas with the capacity to carry out the provisions of the R.A. 10627. In 2014, after the law was passed and signed the number of bullying cases rose by 21% compared to the results in 2013 (Santos, 2015). So the researchers questioned as to how the number of bullying cases increased after the year it was declared as a law. With this scenario, the researchers decided to come up with a research topic on how to determine the level of compliance of public schools to R.A. 10627 or which area of determinant provided by the law was not being implemented well in the school premises.
The researchers aimed for a better and strict implementation of R.A. 10627 in terms of its policies acted upon individual public schools in order to asses and to cater the needs of the students, and also for them to explore in such a way that their environment would not be detrimental to their growth as they spend their time in school.
Statement of the Problem
This study was conducted to determine the compliance level of public schools to R.A. 10627 in the Division of Bacolod City 2017. Particularly, this aimed to answer the following questions:
- What was the level of compliance of public schools in the implementation of R.A. 10627?
- What were the problems encountered by public schools in the implementation of the Anti-Bullying Act?
- What recommendations were given to improve the compliance of all public schools in Bacolod City regarding the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013?
Review of Related Literature
Levine (2012) states that, children thrive best in an environment that is reliable, available, consistent and noninterfering. Wolpert (2010) indicates that a child must be exposed to a harm free environment that will less likely affects its physical, mental and social being when enrolled in an institution that would cultivate most of the child’s growth, children who are harassed or abuse performed less academically and more likely to avoid school and or perceiving to view school in an opposite manner rather than being an institution for learning. The researchers chose this topic because of the rampant bullying cases in public schools. Due to their numerous populations, the implementation of the law cannot be monitored properly, as presumed by the researchers. This study will be conducted to find out whether the public schools are taking the proper measures to implement the law in their institutions by determining the level of compliance of both public elementary and secondary schools in Bacolod City to R.A. 10627 or the Anti- bullying act of 2013. This study will contribute to further strengthen the law implemented for the welfare and protection of the students outside the care of their respective homes and to the institution itself.
A survey was conducted by one of the largest anti- bullying charities in the world “The Annual Bullying Survey 2016” in United Kingdom together with different institutions with 8,850 people aged 12- 20 years old. The results showed that, 1.5 million young people (50%) have been bullied within the past year; 145,800 (19%) of these were bullied every day and it stated that people who have been bullied are almost twice as likely to bully others. Twice as many boys as girls bully (66% of males vs. 31% females); 57% of female respondents have been bullied, 44% of male respondents and 59% of respondents who identified as transgender have been bullied; 24% of those who have been bullied go on to bully. Based on their own definition, 14% of young people admit to bullying somebody; 12% say they bully people daily; 20% of all young people have physically attacked somebody; 44% of young people who have been bullied experience depression; 41% of young people who have been bullied experience social anxiety; and 33% of those being bullied have suicidal thoughts (Annual Bullying Survey 2016).
The United Kingdom Anti- bullying law clearly stated that policies regarding student’s behaviour that discourages bullying in any form must be imposed in every public school. Each school must provide their own regulations in catering issues regarding bullying as well as involving the students, teachers and parents to fully implement and creates a wide range of awareness on the said law, staff is required to report any incidents of harassment, victimization and discrimination that they witness in their school. In addition, schools are also required to comply with all anti- discrimination laws or the Equality Act of 2010 (School Discipline and Exclusions in 2016).
In 2009, the government of Westminster began a campaign to stop Children with Disabilities being bullied by normal students. Children with disabilities became the target of bullying since they’re vulnerable and unable to defend themselves. The government thought of having such campaign since there are complaints that Schools failed to address such issues in their institutions. According to Educational Lawyers in United Kingdom, the head of their schools were not held accountable for bullying cases which they believe should be otherwise. Lawyers called for it that every administrator should be responsible for cases of bullying that takes place within their areas of responsibilities. They added, “Every school should receive assistance from an independent adjudicator, which is a judge authorized to make legally binding decisions on a particular topic; in this case, bullying at school (Anti-bullying Law in the United Kingdom, 2015).
Taking measures such as creating a unisex bathroom in campus which was taken by Shuttleworth College in UK is a step to lessen and eventually end bullying within their institution ( Bullying ‘Cut with Unisex Toilet, 2009, April 22, BBC News). The Department of Education in the Philippines reported more than 1,700 cases of child abuse or bullying in schools for the years 2013 and 2014. However, this number decreased due to an order in 2012 known as the DepEd Child Protection Policy. This contains the policy and guidelines for the child protection in schools against abuse, exploitation, violence, discrimination, and bullying. The 2012 DepEd Child Protection Policy not only takes care of the violence targeted towards the children but it also looks at the family. Information is then referred to school administrators and teachers (Bullying in The Philippines, 2016). In Philippine bullying stories, a 5-year-old girl, a student at Fisher Valley College in Taguig, was the victim of physical bullying. Children in her class would pull her chair away when she tried to sit down, causing her to fall. When her parents knew of the incident they talked to the school authority about it and the school promised that immediate action would be taken. Due to the school’s negligence, the situation escalated further from minor mischief to acts of violence. The student was stabbed in the arm with a pencil and she had to visit a psychologist to deal with the damage and anxiety that these incidents caused (School bullying in The Philippines, 2016).
Dy et al. (2016) indicated that a survey was conducted by the Stairway Foundation Inc. in the National Capital Region, covered about 1,268 School children aged 7 to 12 and 1,143 aged 13 to 16, showed that 80% of teenagers in the Philippines were bullied online and 60% of their counterparts in the 7 to 12 age bracket suffered the same abuse. The survey also said that 70% of these children were aware or had been a witness of bullying happening with their peers. 30% were children 7 to 12 years old and the remaining 40% is from children/teenager ages 13 to 16 years old.
These children have been victims of threat from social media; some were humiliated and impersonated with the use of dummy accounts. Also, some felt cyber bullied after a private conversation was exposed and caused them so much trouble. SFI wrote “Cyber bullying is particularly repugnant and complicated” as the Internet “magnifies the problem in almost every aspect and invades safe spaces.” Thus, schools should be the one to educate and make the children understand about how serious cyber bullying could be and it should never be out of the school’s concern (Dy et al., 2016).
Due to the rising cases of bullying in Bacolod city, whereas it has been recorded for the year 2015 that there are 11, 448 bullying incidents and 2,706 cases of child abuse last school year. The Department of Education has ordered both elementary and secondary schools to create a child protection committee. This committee will serve its purpose to ensure that the cases and instances of abuse in private and public schools will be monitored closely in every grade level. (Leonardia, 2016).
METHODS
This section discusses the research design, the techniques used for gathering data, the criteria in selecting the participants, sampling procedure, validity and reliability of the instrument and statistical tools on how data are treated and analyzed.
Research Design
The proposed qualitative research sought to achieve its objective by studying the level of compliance of public schools in Bacolod City to the Republic Act No. 10627 or the Anti- Bullying Act of 2013, thus a descriptive-evaluative type of research design was employed.
Leedy and Ormond (2010) as cited in Cruz (2016) defined the descriptive survey as learning about large population by asking questions about their characteristics, opinions, attitudes, or previous experiences. The descriptive research design is appropriate for studies which aim to find out what prevail in the present conditions or relationships, held opinions and beliefs, processes and effects including developing trends.
To get more candid or in-depth answers, the researchers had Key Informant interviews with random people who had having knowledge about the real status of the institutions. The researchers looked for comfortable environment for the individuals and formed frank and open in-depth discussion.
Furthermore, this Descriptive Evaluative method will gather all the necessary information that will be beneficial for the improvement of ideas and probable outcome from the document and records review, and focus group discussion. Moreover, descriptive method was used to identify the biases of school representative whether they comply with the set of rules and regulations under republic Act No. 10627 or the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013. Therefore, data gathered served as a baseline in order to identify lapses and for further improvement of the research. As a result, the data gathered in this research were analysed to get the essential information used by the researchers and the correct and systematized research process was achieved.
Participants of the Study
The participants of the study came from the school administrators of the chosen public schools, particularly, the school principal, a guidance counselor, and class advisers for each grade level. Public schools were divided into fifty percent (50%) to equally acquire the desired number of schools required to participate in the study.
Research Locale
Bacolod City is the main locality of the study. It is located in the northern, western-most area of Negros Occidental. It is a highly urbanized city with a population of 511,820 as of 2013. Bacolod City has a literacy rate of 91.2%. The division of Bacolod City is divided into 7 districts comprising 22 elementary schools and 46 High Schools. In this study, public elementary and high schools in Bacolod City were randomly chosen to be the participants of this research.
Sampling Design
Fifty percent (50%) of the total schools both from elementary and high school were randomly chosen with the use of the stratified random sampling technique. Schools were classified by district in order to utilize the survey. The researchers assigned numbers to the schools as actual identification in order to choose randomly by using the random runner as a sample technique. The provided list of schools by DepEd was used in order to identify the participants.
Instrumentation
The questionnaire contained key informant method interview to obtain vital information about the level of compliance of RA 10627. The method allowed the researchers to ascertain the validity of the participants’ assessment. The information was typically obtained from an officer (key informant) who is in the position to know the particular issue of interest (Chiu, 2016). The interview was guided by a set of predetermined question.
Data Gathering Procedure
In the preliminary stage, the researchers addressed and sent a request letter to the Division Superintendent of Bacolod City to gather necessary data to be used as research variable. All needed data – school size, school classifications, contact numbers, and bullying incidents were provided. The researchers visited all chosen public schools in Bacolod City and distributed survey questionnaires to the participants. For the key informant interview, the researchers set an appointment to authorized personnel to have an in depth information gathering procedure.
Data Processing and Statistical Treatment
The study showed the level of compliance of the public schools.
Ethical Considerations
The study involved professionals as participants. Careful steps were observed in order to avoid unethical and informal process of data gathering and to ensure the confidentiality of the victims’ identities involved in bullying cases. For ethical consideration, in order to obtain their prior informed approval, the participants were oriented to the purpose of the study and that their honest responses were treated with utmost confidentiality and were used for research purposes only and that it also served as basis for recommendations to the Department of Education (DepEd) and other policy makers. The same information was provided on top of the survey questionnaire. Questions asked are formal and sensitive enough to avoid biases. Due to the sensitivity of the information gathered, survey questionnaires were delivered personally by the researchers. The researchers asked for the hotline number of the school or of the Administration officer for follow-up purposes.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
The questionnaire consists of open-ended questions to supplement the actions of the public schools in complying with the Republic Act 10627 or the Anti-bullying Act of 2013. Such that, the specific activities conducted in their respective school, likewise as the issues encountered along the way of implementing the law and their recommendations on how to further strengthen it.
The activities present to most schools are teacher, parents and students seminar. The schools also affirmed that the administration provides training and symposiums about bullying for the members of the faculty. Likewise, provide campaign posters about the Anti-bullying act posted in there bulletin boards as well as conducting film showing in classes about bullying.
The issues the schools encountered upon the implementation of the law are mostly apathy from the parents, lack of useful activities for the students and lack of understanding about the effects of bullying, no competent resource person to deal with bullying cases and inconsistency upon the implementation of the law. The other schools stated that the students are aware about the law and purposely neglect.
The recommendations coming from the participants to further strengthen the law are, policies should be clearly implemented and establish a clear procedure to investigate reports of bullying and there must be a clear disciplinary administrative action to those who committed it. Thus, there should be strong awareness campaign against child bullying and child protection. Close monitoring of the Department of education to schools, is highly needed by the schools. Likewise, more security personnel in each school must be formed. Next, the parent’s cooperation must be compulsory. The law must be taken seriously and must be well implemented by the administration. The schools also recommend that the Department of education must conduct awareness seminar to less supervised areas in the community.
CONCLUSION
For a student to be able to function properly in school, he/she needs to perform well in his/her studies. For this to be possible, he/she must be comfortable in his/her environment. A safe environment is needed for this, and this cannot be met as long as bullying is present in the different academic institutions. This is what the study sought out to do, to be able to identify the compliance level of public schools to the Anti-Bullying Act so that different flaws and problems can be identical when it comes to the implementation of this act, thus providing our respective recommendations and suggestions to tighten the implementation of this Act even more.
The overriding purpose of the study was to determine whether public schools both in elementary and high school in Bacolod City adhere to the policies under RA 10627 or the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013 in addressing the existence of bullying in their respective institutions. Bullying is an issue that society has been facing for a long time. Often time, schools become venues of this phenomenon. Some teachers admit the existence of bullying and that it is necessary and normal for the growth of a child but what they do not take into account is that it may hinder the child’s interest and academic performance. In line with this menace, the researchers wanted to determine the extent of their compliance to the law whether they are compliant or non-compliant. In order to accomplish the main goal, it was necessary to determine some prerequisite goals.
The first step that the researchers made in order to arrive at a desired result was to provide a questionnaire, its sole purpose was to assess the participants on the level of compliance of their respective institution to the Anti-bullying Act of 2013. The participants were taken from the list of public schools both elementary and secondary under the Division of Bacolod City and were chosen through a sampling method, specifically the random runner. The researchers chose the public elementary and secondary schools in accordance with the purpose of the law stated on section 3 of R.A. 10627 on the Adoption of Anti- Bullying Policies where Dep Ed was mentioned and since public schools are under the mandate of the Department of Education. Furthermore, the main factor for choosing public schools was because of the high population of public compared to private schools. This fact questioned the researchers on how public schools would monitor and implement the law despite handling a high population.
Participants which consisted of administrators and class advisers were chosen because they possess the knowledge regarding the performance of their schools in acting towards the implemented act on bullying. The same set of questions was given to the administrators and advisers in order for the researchers to find out if their answers match given different functions in its institution. The survey questionnaire consisted of open ended questions that would allow the researchers to identify the school’s level of compliance, and a key informant interview was also done in order to ascertain the validity of the participants’ assessment on the questionnaires provided.
Based on the results of the study, the researchers arrived at a conclusion that the most prevalent form of bullying in both high schools and elementary schools is teasing, as verbal bullying is the simplest form of bullying and is present in children of all ages. Physical bullying may be what first comes to mind when adults think about bullying. However, the most common form of bullying—both for boys and girls—is verbal bullying, second is fighting.
The findings would be best accompanied by this statement from a Key informant stating that “ … we are conducting seminars to the teachers together with the administrators but what the school lacks is the awareness and information program for the parents regarding this matter,” The majority of the public schools in Bacolod also do not have clear procedures in handling bullying cases, which means that although they do comply with most of the policies enumerated in the Republic Act, they do not have a standard operating procedure when it comes to bullying cases. This conclusion was further supported by the interview with a key informant, a public school teacher with 35 years of teaching experience, saying that “We don’t really have a direct approach on parents regarding this act. In my case, I tackled this issue every time we have PTA meetings but not all parents are there, especially from the lower level parents who are usually missing in action. In that scenario, it is really obvious that the school isn’t as tight as expected when it comes to implementing the act.”
In line with the results of this study, the researchers recommend to the local government of Bacolod City that there should be a clear ordinance or a regulation made by them in order to strengthen the act and must be well designated to every school in Bacolod. The researchers also recommend that the author of the said law will provide or add more provisions under which the school will really be forced to take it seriously. Such that, having a school psychologist is a must and also the law should include the parents of the students in activities and training provided for the teachers and must also be held liable for negligence.
The researchers also extend their concern to the higher authority such as the officials from the Department of Education that they will reprimand schools that are not in compliance with the law. They should also provide or allocate budget for those schools that were not able to hire a fit person who has a background in handling bullying cases in their schools because they do not have enough funds for that and those teachers can solely focus on what their real job, which is to develop the mind and guide children with their undertakings.
For the schools, they should further analyse the Anti-bullying Act so that it will be given much attention and importance. Also, the school’s administration must assign a particular person who is in that particular field of expertise. The guidance counsellor should be in any way knowledgeable in handling such cases and not just a plain teacher. Likewise, the administration should not only depend on seminars alone for them to truly understand the law but also they must provide courses for teachers to take in order for them to at least take actions whenever there are bullying in their school, provided that there are no person who has expertise for that.
For the parents, the recommendation would be, first, to give their full cooperation to the school administration, in this kind of case which is bullying, since it is for the welfare and security of their children. Second, the parents should take in to consideration that the schools cannot handle cases of bullying with their limited capacity and resources, thus the administration needed the kids to also be guided upon in their respected households. Third, empathy must be avoided by the parents of both the victim and the perpetrator. Lastly, for Children to avoid being involved in cases that are detrimental to the other students; the parents should set a good example and must be a good role model to the children.
For the students, proper self-discipline and consideration to others or to fellow students is highly recommended, to avoid being involved in offensive situations. Thus, students should not commit serious acts that might be harmful to others both physically and mentally. The students should take proper caution in their actions, since it is now punishable by law. However, for those students who are not yet punishable by the law, their parents will be punished in behalf of their actions.
For future researchers, the recommendation will be, first, patience and understanding for the participants and their responsibilities, since the participant are teachers. Future researchers must anticipate the busy schedule of their participants and that less attention will be given to them. Second, the researchers must prepare themselves for future hassles that the large number of schools they will go to during data gatherings. Third, it is recommended that this kind of study will not be taken for granted and that a lot of work and patience are heeded to different kinds of attitude each will encounter upon their journey. Also, it can be a big help to the study if the researchers can obtain participants coming from the students to further assess and strengthen the findings of the study. In addition, a comparative study between public schools and private schools or between schools on rural and urban will further make the study more interesting and significant.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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R.A. 10627: The Anti- Bullying Act
Tweet Share
http://www.elegal.ph/republic-act-no-10627-the-anti-bulliyng-act/
By Disini Law Office on January 22, 2015
1,700 cases of bullying reported
http://asksonnie.info/statistics-bullying-cases-up-by-21-in-philippines-schools/
By Asksonnie
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The completion of this research could not have been possible without the participation and assistance of so many people whose names may not all be enumerated. Their contributions are sincerely appreciated and gratefully acknowledged. However, the group would like to express their earnest appreciation particularly to the following:
Atty. Jocelle Batapa Sigue, for her effort in discussing the things that the group needs in order to undertake the study and for sharing expertise, sincere, and valuable guidance and encouragement extended to the group.
Mr Joseph Anthony Bayan, for providing the group the idea on what study should be conducted and for extending all possible help he can during the making of the study.
To all relatives, friends and others who in one way or another shared their support, either morally and financially.
Above all, to the Great Almighty, the author of knowledge and wisdom, for his countless love and for the good health and wellbeing that were necessary to the group members in order to complete this research.
APPENDICES
| Respondent No: |
University of St. La Salle
College of Law
Bacolod City
A.Y. 2018- 2019
The Level of Compliance of the Public Schools in Bacolod City to the R.A. 10627
(Anti- Bullying Act of 2013)
- What are the activities conducted by your school in implementing the Anti- Bullying Act of 2013?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
- What are the issues/ problems of your school in implementing the Anti- Bullying Act of 2013?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
- What recommendation/s can you give in order to tighten the implementation of Anti- Bullying Act of 2013?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
PARTICIPANT # 1
EDUCATION SECTOR
AGE: 58
ADDRESS: JESUSA HEIGHTS, BRGY. ESTAFANIA, BACOLOD CITY
STATUS: SINGLE
SEX: FEMALE
RELIGION: ROMAN CATHOLIC
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT: COLLEGE
SOURCE OF INCOME
Work: by profession as a Teacher;
Place of Work: Domingo Lacson National High School
Salary/month: Salary grade 22 – 52, 000 php minus 11, 600 php as tax per month
CHILDREN: None
QUESTION: Ano nabal-an mo parti sa RA 10627?
PARTICIPANT: Well as a teacher with 35 years of experience damo naman ko na encounter na law especially if it is intended to regulate the school system. So this anti bullying act ahh.. sa pagkabalo ko bag o lang ni siya kay as far as I could remember it was 2014 nd ko lang ma dumduman ang exact na date pero nagka seminar kami ni conducted by the division office to inform the teachers and to eventually come up into ideas kag patakaran to implement sa kada school. Sa pagkabalo ko this R. A, as an overall direct statement, this is for the students of each schools. To avoid bullying to ensure a healthy environment sa students kag what the school must do inorder to cater the said law.
QUESTION: Pano ka na nakabalo/ diin mo na nabal-an?
PARTICIPANT: Actually pahapyaw man lang ni nga gin discuss sa amon kay ang head na sang kda school ang mas nakabalo because they are the one who submits annual reports regarding sa condition sang amon school. I don’t really have a wider knowledge regarding this act because it is not a pre requisite to us teachers to really study the said law I doubt na tanan ni gani kabalo . You can ask some if they knew about the law and they will eventually say yes but ask them bala kung anu na siya na R.A no they don’t know.
QUESTION: Ga conduct man kamo seminar miss parti sa RA 10627?
PARTICIPANT: Yes we are conducting seminars as I’ve said una is a division na siya then next is the school mismo of course all the staff admins and the teachers are being informed. May committee kami para sa bullying but I don’t know if it is really acting upon its purpose or basi gin himo lang na siya just to comply and para less ang burden ka school in cases may ma visit or ma check sa condition ka school.
QUESTION: Ti sa mga students ya miss? Kag sa mga parents?
PARTICIPANT: We don’t really have a direct approach on the parents regarding this act. In my case I tackled this issue everytime may PTA meetings but not all parents are there but mostly sa lower sections ang parents are missing in action. In that scenario Makita gid ya na nd amok a ka tight ang pag deal sang school regarding the act. Students are also being informed through signages of not to bullying scattered around the school and it leaves like that. And if the teacher will not really give a glance in this, students knows nothing about this. There are some who really gave up some time to educate students on this one but mostly daw wala nadi. Dapat sa students kamo nag interview kay mas ma justify na nila into studies. Anti bullying act is for the students yet they don’t even know that this law exists.
QUESTION: Sino gahatag sinyo miss seminar?
PARTICIPANT: Those who are in the committee are the ones who know the line up of the entire policies as far as I know those signages scattered around the school grounds is a part of it. We, don’t really have a clear visual of this kay sila man lang na kabalo they don’t even inform us and jot down for us the policies. In short para lang gid na sa to anu ahhmm to comply if may mag inspect. Pero ang inspection nadi nd man na siya to check regarding sa bullying. I don’t know about the other schools but in our case the policies stays to those who are involved in the committee. Ah okay I cannot really remember but there will always be ammm.. annual awareness for the students I can remember one time na we really have to require the students to attend a talk on this one sa school premises man lang this is done after a flag ceremony. Pero kabalo ka naman mga high school mostly iban wala ni ga attend kay amo man kulang man sa encouragement ka advisers those na ara sa lets say sec 1 2 .. or higher sections are present. In my opinion this don’t really help the students nd enough action to aware them and to inform them their rights.
QUESTION: May ari man kmo d miss committee nga nga para gid sa bullying?
PARTICIPANT: Sa nabal an ko the guidance is the head of the committee sa iya ni tanan gakadto the e pass sa principal then submits report to the division. The problem here is that the counselor is not really a graduate or a practitioner man lang to be able to act upon her duty. She’s also a teacher and at he same time a counselor who is not really capable professionally. Para lang guro may mabutang da ah. I don’t man dyapon sa iban na school pero dre sa amon amo na ang gakatabo. Wala pana d gani pyerme ang counselor eh. T kung may issues man teacher nalang na ang ga settle . storya2 gamay akig2 kag pahog2 lang sa mga studyante. Pero high school eh you know naman nd nan a sila kis mahambalan kay may utok naman na sila na ila. What the students really need and deserved is a counselor who know her job and has a wide knowledge on her job not just some teachers na nd man ni sakop ka obra ya values ed? It is not enough.
QUESTION: Ti anu ang inyo mga policy ang nakapaloob sa inyo nga committee kag anu da sa ila ang gaka implement niyo?
PARTICIPANT: Kung may cases man nadi usually teachers are the one who settles it. Kung lala na amo na siya gina pa guidance but as I’ve said missing in action si guidance. Si principal is busy man na sa. Kung may instatnces man na parents should be called upon, iban na parents ma swertahan man na ara iban wala gid ya . t kaluoy man sang bata. Both sa perpetrators kag sa victim.
QUESTION: Ti miss example b may ginbully anu nga mga action ng gina himo niyo sa victim kag sa perpretator?
PARTICIPANT: Wala kami siling gid na program para gid sa victim counsel2? Wala amo na. the same goes sa perpetrator kag sa witness. We usually talk sa duwa Dungan then if mag agree na then amo na nasa rapos na. Usually wala naman na gakasulit kay hadlok eh. Pahog2 nalang para nd na mag occur liwat pero may times na gabalos pero sagwa na sang school and kis a kung may manugid amo lang na nga gaka resolved nasa liwat pero kung wala ah ti wala gid ya eh.
QUESTION: So miss to end this interview, ano ang ma recommend mo para ma implement gid mayo ang ini nga law?
PARTICIPANT: I believe that bullying is a serious matter that should be given prior attention. Schools are the one who molds the students. Their environment in school should be a healthy one for them to be encouraged man also to go to school and learn. But pano man na bi mismo maganahan ang students mag eskwela kung ang institution is not giving enough service that they deserved? Same goes sa ila mga parents. You mentioned kagina na there are lots of law being made to serve its purpose for the well being of the society and this anti bullying is for the children to love in a harmonious environment but like other laws, isa ni sa saw ala mayo gina tutukan. Schools should really tighten and create a clear policy regarding this issue and kinanlan ni e delegate kag e pabalo not only to those who are involved in the committee but also to the students kag parents. The Schools must find waysbon how to effectively inform the students and parents . The same goes sa division kay if they are also strict on the implementation of this act, the schools will also do their very best to provide better actions through policies.
END
PARTICIPANT # 2
EDUCATION SECTOR
ADDRESS: PRK. AKASYA, BARANGAY, PAHANOCOY, BACOLOD CITY
STATUS: MARRIED
SEX: FEMALE
RELIGION: ROMAN CATHOLIC
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT: COLLEGE
SOURCE OF INCOME
Work: by profession as a Teacher; by possession Education Program Supervisor in Values Education
Place of Work: Domingo Lacson National High School
Salary/month: Salary grade 22 – 52, 000 php minus 11, 600 php as tax per month
CHILDREN: None
QUESTION: Ano nabal-an mo parti sa RA 10627?
PARTICIPANT: Ang nabal.an ko sa R.A 10627, parti ni siya sa Anti bullying Act nga gin ubra sg gobyerno para ma kwan bala ang ano mga cases sg bullying sa kada eskwelahan, para ma hagan hagan ang ini nga mga kaso.
QUESTION: Pano ka na nakabalo/ diin mo na nabal-an?
PARTICIPANT: Na bal.an ko ni ky naga lantaw ko sg news sg una kg ga basa mn ko mga news, kg ndumduman ko nka seminar kmi ni sg una sa amun nga iskwelahan.
QUESTION: Ga conduct man kamo seminar miss parti sa RA10627?
PARTICIPANT: Oo, hmbal ko gni nka conduct kmi na sa amun iskwelahan.
QUESTION: T sa mga students ya miss? Kag sa mga parents?
PARTICIPANT: Oo ga conduct gd kmi.
QUESTION: Sino gahatag sinyo miss seminar?
PARTICIPANT: Ang amun guidance counselor.
QUESTION: May ari man kmo d miss committee nga nga para gid sa bullying?
PARTICIPANT: My ara ky sakop na siya sg amun nga child friendly committee policy.
QUESTION: Ano ang inyo mga policy ang nakapaloob sa inyo nga committee kag anu da sa ila ang gaka implement niyo?
PARTICIPANT: Aah ummm ano na, ara na siya sa sulod sg amun school rules and regulations under sa undertakings namun nga policy, isa nda ang ang ummmm anti bullying nga act, wherein ang mga bata, incase my mga kaso gina settle kg gina patawag sa guidance office with the , with their parents, the complainants and the perpetrator.
QUESTION: T miss example b may ginbully anu nga mga action ng gina himo niyo sa victim kag sa perpretator?
PARTICIPANT: Aahhhh gina patawag ang duwa ka parties, both parties, the Victims and the perpetrators after nga ma kuha ang both parties nga nila nga side gin patawag daun ila parents kag advisers and gina record daun sa office
QUESTION: Mga anu na sila miss?
PARTICIPANT: Aahhh like aaah, example siguro sa mga students especially sa highschool, secondary junior highschool, ang victims usually na fall sa mga bata nga daw my inferiority sa ila mga students, aah sa other students, or sa ila mga classmates kg ang mga perpetrator namun naman mga student nga feeling superior sa ila nga level.
QUESTION: Diin niyo miss anu ginahimo ninyo kung may mag report parti sa bullying?
PARTICIPANT: Ahhhhh siling ko gni kgina gina patawag na siya ang perpetrator kg ang victims kg gina kwaan sg ila mga sides, kg gina check gid mayo sa guidance kung ano gin halinan, pano nag sugod kg gina ngayuan sg opinion nila ang kada sides, para ma settle ang case eh.
QUESTION: T miss pano niyo gina make sure nga nd na masulit? May ga monitor man nadi?
PARTICIPANT: Ang monitoring paagi sbng sa amun nga guidance teacher, kg on the record gd na sa guidance office kg dason gina follow up na namun through everyday na siya nga monitoring, gina check na namun ang mga bata, kung kmusta na sila sa ila mga clase kg gina kung, ahh gina, through records gina pa perma na, with the agreements sg parents kg advisers and with the students, the victims and the perpetrator, para indi na msulit ang ina nga kaso.
QUESTION: Pano niyo miss gina encourage ang mga studyante na manugid if may Makita na bullying? Pano niyo na dason miss ma protectionan ang witness ?
PARTICIPANT: Ahh in case kung my mga students nga mka kita sg bullying gina encourage gd namun ini nga mga bata nga mag kdto gd sa guidance office ukon sa mga personnels incharge para ma record ang ina nga case kg immediately ma take action, mpatawag ang mga students involve, ukon ang mga concern nga mga kbataan. At the same time teachers kg conduct kmi symposium, rethreat and seminars regarding sa kung pano ni pang handle ang amu na nga case.
QUESTION: Miss ga provide kamo counselling para sa victim kag sa perpetrator?
PARTICIPANT: Yes, importante gd na siya ang counselling para ma likawan sa maa, maka, uuhhh uhhh. Importante gd na siya ang counselling especially sa victim para nga ang iya nga psychological nga behavior ma minimized man niya kg ma handle man niya na ang ang mga psychological effects, aah, ma minimized ang amu na nga mga effets.
QUESTION: Kabalo man ni miss ang mga student sa inyo school na may amo ni nga law para sa bullying?
PARTICIPANTS: Aahhh huo gina announced gid na siya especially sa during sa first day sg classes, opening sg classes, gina echo na sg mga teachers, sg mga advicers sa ila mga students, paagi mn sa ila mga undertakings wherein umm, which is amu na ang mga policies sg schools, at the same time ang bullying case or ang anti-bullying law of 2013.
QUESTION: So miss to end this interview, ano ang ma recommend mo para ma implement gid mayo ang ini nga law?
PARTICIPANTS: Ahh… para sa akon para ma implement gd ni mayo ang law bi, dapat tni ang mga iskwelahan mhatag gd sg mistra or du ka bullying personnel nga ka angay gd bala nga mag responde kung my mga kaso sg bullying, kung baga daw expert sa amu ni nga field. Ky laban laban bi kis.a ang mga ara sa guidance, or mga guidance counselors are just teachers lg gd. So dapat gd ya kda iskwelahan matagaan or my ma assingnan sg tawo halin sa kung diin mn da eh, depEd b or bsta ang makaya mka responde kung my mga cases aah… ahh kg isa pgd tni my ma monitor man sg mga sitwasyon sg mga kabataan sa kda ikwelhan, bisan monthly monitoring lg bala, kg if gina sunod gd ang amuni nga law.
RESEARCHERS:
Victor Siegfried R. D’lonsod
April Rose G. Torres
Trisha M. Yangan
Philippine Legal Research 
Thank you very much for this informative article.
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