Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista has approved an ordinance penalizing officials and personnel who fail to act on incidents of bullying or who provide an atmosphere that would encourage such a behavior in their schools.
The Anti-Bullying Ordinance of Quezon City cited the creation of committees in all primary and secondary schools in the city that would establish policies and address the problem within their educational institutions, including the provision of a protection mechanism for informants and the victims.
High priority
Under the ordinance, the highest priority is given to the right of children to their survival, protection, participation and development by ensuring their safety and security within school premises.
Citing the high number of schools, colleges, and universities located in the city, the ordinance declared unlawful “all forms of bullying perpetrated not only in the school but done within its immediate vicinities.”
It said that bullying is a serious and alarming problem among students that “not only inflicts physical and psychological harm, but also leaves an emotional scar on students, thereby adversely affecting their studies, social personality and their lives.”
“Bullying is committed by any severe or repeated use by one or more students of a written, verbal, or electronic expression or a physical gesture, or any combination thereof that may cause physical injury, emotional distress and psychological fear of physical or emotional harm to his limb, family, and property,” the ordinance read.
Parental authority
The acts, it pointed out, could be physical, psychological, emotional or sexual.
Special parental authority was given to the school and its personnel, including: Teaching or academic staff; administrators; as well as nonteaching and nonacademic personnel, giving them the responsibility over the student while under their supervision or custody, whether inside or outside the school premises.
School officials and personnel who “instigate, initiate or bring about acts of bullying between students” and who fail to report or block any attempt to report bullying will be penalized with three to six months of imprisonment or fined from P1,000 to P3,000.