Manila, Philippines More than half of cases of child abuse reported in
school year 2012-2013 involved acts of bullying, the Department of
Education said yesterday. This makes the enactment of Republic Act 10627, the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013 all the more significant, DepEd said. According to a summary of child abuse cases reported to DepEd in school year 2012-2013, around 80 percent or 1,165 out of 1,456 cases involved acts of bullying. The other 20 percent, or 291, involved other forms of abuse, including sexual abuse. The National Capital Region (NCR) recorded 489 cases of child abuse, the highest among all regions, with 443 involving bullying. This is followed by 228 cases in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) with 216 involving bullying, Region VI, 134 cases, 114 involving bullying. Region X had the least number of reported child abuse cases with only one case of bullying and four other child abuse related incidents. Region I recorded 30 cases (24 bullying and six other child abuse cases); Region II, 16 cases (seven bullying and nine other child abuse cases); Region III, 18 cases (10 bullying and eight other child abuse cases); Region IV-A, 183 cases (112 bullying and 71 other child abuse cases); Region IV-B, 67 cases (48 bullying and 19 other child abuse cases); Region V, 49 cases (18 bullying and 31 other child abuse cases); Region VII, 30 cases (13 bullying and 17 other child abuse cases); Region VIII, 16 cases (six bullying and 10 other child abuse cases); Region IX, 16 cases (five bullying and 11 other child abuse cases); Region XI, 67 cases (61 bullying and six other child abuse cases); Region XII, 96 cases (85 bullying and 11 other child abuse cases), and Region XIII, 12 cases (two bullying and 10 other child abuse cases). DepEd Assistant Secretary Tonisito Umali, We are very happy with the anti-bullying law because it adds more teeth to the existing guidelines of DepEd against child abuse and violence. The law specifies that DepEd may impose on non-compliant public or private schools, Umali said. DepEd can only exercise reasonable control over private schools, but with this law, we can impose sanctions on erring private schools by suspending their permits or close them down if they remain defiant or non-compliant despite repeated reminders and warnings, he said. Under RA 10627, schools have six months to formulate their own anti- bullying policies after the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) have been released by DepEd. Meanwhile, Senator Juan Edgardo Sonny Angara, one of the principal authors of the anti-bullying measure, said I congratulate both houses of Congress and our President for working together in providing the Filipino youth the opportunity for maximum learning in a peaceful and violence- free setting through the passage of this law. The school is our childrens second home. I call on school authorities to be proactive and responsive to the law in order to ensure the safety of the students. That is their primary responsibility and promise to parents, said Angara. Senator Ma. Lourdes Nancy Binay said the anti-bullying law will usher in a new proactive mindset in school environments that will ultimately curb the early onset of a culture of violence among children. As a mother, I deeply appreciate our President for the immediate signing of this bill into law. I believe that this will create a new positive culture of caring in school environments as it stops, prevents and protects children from the early prevalence of violence among students, Binay said. (With a report from Hannah L. Torregoza)
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