Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday stated that he’ll deal with bullying in colleges and focus on the necessity for extra psychological well being packages with schooling stakeholders.
Gatchalian made the comment after a Quezon City Culiat High School scholar was stabbed to dying by a schoolmate on January 20.
“Lumabas na maraming pag-aaral including PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), malala ang bullying dito sa atin,” said the senator n Super Radyo dzBB.
“Itong bullying nakakaapekto doon sa bata. Hindi lang sa bata pati sa classroom at eskwelahan dahil kung takot ‘yung mga estudyante at alam nilang mayroong bully maraming mga bata ang natatakot.”
Of the 79 international locations that participated within the PISA 2018, the Philippines had the best incidence of bullying with 65% of Filipino highschool college students experiencing it “at least a few times a month.”
Gatchalian, who sits because the chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture within the nineteenth Congress, stated he didn’t need to lead the investigation into the stabbing incident.
However, he confused that bullying wanted to be instantly addressed to guard college students.
“Mayroon na tayong batas on anti-bullying. Titingnan namin kung naipapatupad maigi at kung ano pa ang puwede natin gawin para mawala o mabawasan ang bullying sa ating bansa,” he stated.
“Dahil ang bullying parang isang social problem ng eskwelahan natin, nakakaapekto ‘yan sa ating mga estudyante,” he added.
Republic Act 10627 or the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013, signed by then-President Benigno Aquino III, mandates all elementary and secondary colleges to undertake insurance policies to forestall and deal with acts of bullying of their establishments.
The regulation defines bullying as “any severe or repeated use by one or more students of a written, verbal or electronic expression or a physical act or gesture or any combination thereof, directed at another student that has the effect of actually causing or placing the latter in reasonable fear of physical or emotional harm or damage to his property.”
Acts thought of as bullying embrace undesirable bodily contact; any act that causes injury to a sufferer’s psyche and/or emotional well-being; slander; and cyber-bullying.
Under the regulation, college directors who fail to conform could face administrative sanctions. Private colleges, then again, could lose their allow to function.
Meanwhile, Gatchalian stated that the majority kids concerned in heinous crimes have psychological well being points.
“Marami sa mga batang napapasok sa krimen, lalo na ang heinous crime, mayroong mental health issues… Sila ay dumaan sa mga bagay na nakasira sa kanilang morale… kailangan matugunan ang issue sa mental health,” he added.
The senator seen that in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, psychological well being grew to become a much-discussed matter. However, there have been no formal constructions, and there was an insufficient variety of college steering counselors to deal with psychological well being issues.
“At ‘yan naman ang mga pag-uusapan namin at mayroon akong isang bill on mental health para paigtingin ang mental health solutions natin sa ating mga eskwelahan,” he stated.
In August 2022, Gatchalian filed Senate Bill No. 379 or the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act “to urgently counter the unfavourable results of the pandemic college closures on the psychological well being and socio-emotional growth of learners, lecturers and different non-teaching personnel.”
The proposed invoice additionally seeks to institutionalize psychological well being companies in all private and non-private primary schooling colleges and to rent psychological well being professionals. — DVM, GMA Integrated News
