Pimentel wants schools to step-up information drive on bullying

MANILA, Philippines — As the issue on bullying heats up in the wake of the Ateneo Junior High School (AJHS) incident, Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III has called on schools to carry out an intensified information drive to explain the consequences of bullying.

Pimentel said concerned school authorities should even do classroom visits to explain to students what bullying is, among others.

“Ikot sa bawat classroom or may general assignment, sabihan ang mga bata na may batas sa bullying, ‘di maganda ang bullying, ipaliwanag, ‘what is bullying.’ Ipakita na meron itong consequence kapag nambully ka may kaparusahan then magbigay ng ehemplo,” the senator said in an interview over radio station DWIZ.

Pimentel also advised parents to check on their children and if needed, raise their children’s concerns to school authorities.

“Kaya ang importante ang magulang na interbyuhin ‘yung mga anak, kung may marinig na hindi maganda, i-raise natin sa teacher dapat ‘yung teacher at principal, hindi nila negative i-take na may pinu-pursue na matter ‘yung magulang,” he said.

Meanwhile, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said AJHS might have been lacking in the implementation of anti-bullying policies that such incident happened inside the campus.

“Ang bawat eskwelahan ay meron sila programa ng anti-bullying at alam ng estudyante saan sila pupunta. Alam nila saan magsusumbong para agad ma-prevent, maiwasan ang pangyayari ng bullying. Dahil nangyari ito sa Ateneo, obviously may pagkukulang na hindi naimplementa ng mabuti ang batas at ‘di alam ng estudyante kung saan pupunta,” Gatchalian told DWIZ. /kga