Valenzuela mulls task force on campus bullying

MANILA, Philippines — Bullies attack in the classroom when the teacher is not looking.

To prevent this repetitive and aggressive social behavior of some school-aged children, Valenzuela City is pushing for the creation of Task Force Bantay Bully to monitor cases of bullying inside the campus.

Task Force Bantay Bully is part of a proposed city ordinance “localizing” Republic Act No. 10627 or the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013.

The ordinance mandates the creation of Valenzuela Anti-Bullying Council who will supervise and formulate policies of school level Anti-Bullying Councils.

The proposed ordinance was approved on second reading on Monday and would undergo third reading on June 3, just in time for the opening of classes.

“What triggered us to write this [ordinance] were the many viral bullying cases like the one in Ateneo,” said Councilor Chiqui Carreon, Sangguniang Kabataan Federation president of Valenzuela City.

Carreon and Rovin Andrew Feliciano were the principal authors of the ordinance.

Unreported cases

Feliciano said they have received few reports about bullying in the city, but they feared that many cases were unreported in the City Social Welfare and Development Council.

Thus, the proposal on the creation Task Force Bantay Bully.
Volunteer students from Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, Supreme Students Government, Citizen Army Training would undergo training so they would be aware of bullying cases.

Students in Grade 3 and above are allowed to volunteer.

The students will report to the teacher bullying incidents they have witnessed inside the campus. The teacher will then investigate on the incident.

Bullying is defined in the proposed ordinance as unwanted physical contact between the bully and the victim. It also covers name-calling or any act that affects the child’s emotional well-being.

Cyberbullying or bullying through social media platforms and gender-based bullying are also covered in the proposed ordinance.

Sanctions on noncompliance

All public and private schools from kindergarten to junior high school will be required to create an Anti-Bullying Council and Task Force Bantay Bully.

Noncompliance will be fined P3,000 on the first offense, P5,000 on the second offense and P10,000 on the third offense.

“There are cases of bullying that happen in private schools but they keep it to themselves and not report it to the city. We put sanctions on noncompliance so the private schools would follow,” said Feliciano.