MikeLigalig.com

By Jelly F. Musico

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago has filed a resolution to investigate the reported bullying in schools in aid of legislation.

In her Senate Resolution 879, Santiago cited the case of Colegio de San Agustin student Jamie Garcia who stabbed with a ball pen and punched one of his tormentors who allegedly bullied him inside the school.

The incident prompted Allan Canete Bantiles, father of JB Bantiles who was punched by Garcia, to threaten to shoot Garcia last September 24.

According to reports, Garcia punched JB after enduring more than a month of bullying from JB and company who often poked Garcia’s butt and genitals.

Due to the incident, Garcia has been suspended for five days, while the other boys involved got two to three days suspension.

The reports said the school officials ordered Bantiles never to set foot inside the campus again while Garcia's father moved to have the gun-toting father's car pass cancelled.

”Although legal remedies are available to victims of bullying, such do not effectively curtail the rise of incidents of bullying in schools. The legislature should create preventive measures that will address bullying inside campuses, taking into account that the victims and the bullies are usually minors,” Santiago stated in her resolution.

Santiago said the schools should create a policy that would address the existence of bullying in their respective institutions.

”Schools should create a policy to address the existence of bullying in their respective institutions; such a policy should implement a process for addressing incidents of bullying in school and provide remedies that will allow parents or guardians of students to file written reports of suspected bullying,” she said.

Santiago said school administrators should be mandated to act immediately even on anonymous reports of bullying to ascertain the truth of such reports and take steps to stop such acts.

”The welfare of the victim, as well as the bully, should be of paramount consideration; thus, proceedings concerning the victim and the bully should be treated with confidentiality,” Santiago said.

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