Ateneo junior high extends break to address bullying

MANILA, Philippines — The Ateneo Junior High School has moved the resumption of classes from Jan. 3 to Jan. 7 to implement new measures in light of the bullying incident involving its students.

School principal Jose Antonio Salvador, in a memo released yesterday, said the schedule change would give the school administration, faculty and staff ample time to carry out a series of measures to address bullying on campus.

“This has been a painful time for our community, and by the grace of God, we pray to turn this pain into learning opportunities for character formation and culture transformation,” Salvador said.

“May the New Year bring us peace, joy and healing,” he added.

Salvador did not provide specific details on the measures to be implemented.

But earlier, Ateneo de Manila University president Jose Ramon Villarin said he has formed a task force to conduct a comprehensive study and an independent audit of the present measures to be able to recommend to the school administration how it can create a safer and bully-free environment.

The Ateneo has dismissed the student involved in the incident, which drew widespread condemnation after bullying videos surfaced online.

The Department of Education has called for strict implementation of the anti-bullying and child protection policies, with Secretary Leonor Briones saying the incident should serve as a wake-up call for all education stakeholders.

After the decision of the Ateneo to dismiss a bully, former senator Juan Ponce Enrile called for a review of Republic Act No.10627 or the anti-bullying law to give more teeth against future bullying.

“Obviously, there is a need to revisit Republic Act No. 10627,” said Enrile, who in an earlier statement on his Facebook page, admitted that he was also a victim of bullying as a second year high school student in Aparri, Cagayan.

“First, I have to restudy the present law. Second, I have to study the facts of each of the incidents that so far happened violating the law. Third, I have to hear the concerned parties. Only then will I be able to craft the necessary amendatory legislation,” said Enrile, who is seeking re-election to the Senate in the 2019 midterm polls.

Enrile said Ateneo’s efforts to prevent further spread of the viral video would not be effective.

“I do not think the desire of Ateneo de Manila to stop the spread of the video will fly. That would seriously curtail the freedom of the people to inform and to be informed,” Enrile said.

Enrile recalled an instance when he was bullied in high school.

“One morning, when I was on my way to my classroom on the second floor of our school building, four older male students rushed out of a door behind me and attacked me with their knives. I was completely taken by surprise and surrounded. I dropped my books and parried their assaults with my bare hands,” he recounted.

“To save my life, I managed to jump out of a window. Upon landing on the ground below, blood was oozing from the right side of my neck, my left arm had a long and ugly cut, my belly was ripped, and my shirt and pants were red with blood.”

After the incident, Enrile said that he filed complaints against his attackers.

He said that his attackers were “kids of some members of the Board of Trustees of the school” and have “all the lawyers in town” while he had no lawyer. As a result, his case was later dismissed and he was even expelled from school.

“This incident defined the course of my life. I wanted to be an engineer because math was easy for me, but I shifted to law because of the injustice I had suffered,” he said.

“Parents should go out of their way to inculcate to their children the virtue of kindness to others, especially those who are deprived and powerless. To the young people: learn to exercise charity to your neighbors, especially the weak and needy. Do not use your gift from God – your keen mind, your physical strength, your affluence, your power, or whatever to take advantage or dominate others,” he concluded.

Sen. Leila de Lima has expressed concern over the reported incidents of bullying as she called on the authorities to probe the incidents to find out its root cause.

De Lima underscored the importance of knowing why bullying happened in the first place to find ways that would prevent it from happening again.

“This isn’t schoolyard bullying, this sounds like expert-level sadism. He learned it from somewhere,” said De Lima.

“And that’s the important thing to investigate: where or why is a child so young exposed to such level of abuse? Is there abuse in the family? In his circle of relatives? At school? Among his peers? From figures of authority?” she asked.

De Lima’s statement was issued after several videos of a student from the Ateneo de Manila Junior High School showing him verbally and physically assaulting another teen inside their campus became viral on Facebook.

As such, the senator from Bicol said she believes that the actions of children are mere reflection or manifestation of the things that are happening in society.

“If a child does something bad, we have to ask where it is coming from,” she maintained. With Cecille Suerte Felipe