Explanation of Ateneo ‘bully,’ mother fails to satisfy netizens

Weeks after a video showing him allegedly bullying his classmate at Ateneo Junior High School (AJHS) went viral on social media, the student and his mother finally issued a public apology.

However, some celebrities found the pair’s statements wanting, saying they sounded insincere.

“I would like to apologize for my son’s actions. To those whom he hurt, to the school if it was dragged into the issue, I apologize,” the alleged bully’s mother said in a TV interview on Wednesday.

She added: “But I also want to ask for the public’s understanding because my son is just a child.”

On the other hand, her son, who was earlier dismissed from AJHS for his behavior, claimed that he was only defending himself from the other student who had challenged him to a fight just before the video was taken.

“I was just defending myself. I don’t bully other people for no reason at all,” he said.

‘They ended our dream’

“Sad and devastated are not enough to describe how we feel. They ended our dream for our child,” his mother added, referring to Ateneo officials who ordered the immediate dismissal from school of her son.

On social media, some celebrities commented on the apologies issued by the mother and her son, saying these lacked sincerity.

“I wish that you had just apologized and promised that it would not happen again instead of the student saying he was only defending himself,” comedian Ogie Diaz wrote on Facebook on Thursday as he shared a video of the TV interview.

Diaz said that the mother and son should not be mad at netizens for judging them, pointing out that not just one, but three videos showing the latter allegedly involved in bullying incidents had circulated on social media.

“To the mother, I don’t want to blame you, but you should have given your son proper guidance from the start. If you had given him just even a bit of guidance, this would have been apparent to people from the video but this was not obvious to me at all,” he went on to say.

Commenting on Diaz’s post, actress Ynez Veneracion said she also felt a lack of sincerity on the mother’s part, adding that she “sounded arrogant.”

“If you had brought up your son well, he would not end up like that. It’s very obvious that you failed to discipline him properly,” Veneracion said.

“Pinoy Big Brother” alum Fourth Pagotan also took issue with the mother, saying she seemed to have an attitude problem.

Attitude problem

“She comes off as an enabler. It’s obvious she has an attitude as well,” he commented.

For writer and director Joey Javier Reyes, “the failure to see the mistake says it all.”

Fr. Ramon Villarin, Ateneo president, earlier announced the creation of a task force to “conduct a comprehensive study of the current situation, ensure an independent audit of our present measures and systems, and promptly recommend to [the] administration how we can create a safer and bully-free environment.”