Bong Go calls for interventions to combat bullying

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Bong Go has expressed deep concern over the alarming rates of bullying in schools.

Go said both the government and schools should look deeper into the root causes of bullying and its effects on the bullied student so that authorities could come up with the proper interventions.

“For the bully, we need to look closer at the immediate causes of the student’s act of bullying other kids. Is there a factor in the family life that is causing this behavior? Is the bully coming from a broken family? Influenced by peers? Or was he also a victim of bullying before?” he pointed out during a chance interview after the inauguration of a Super Health Center in Victoria, Tarlac on Dec. 13.

As for the victim, the senator stressed the need for authorities to look into the negative impacts of bullying on a student’s schooling, mental health and overall development.

“What is the child’s coping mechanism? And what are its impacts on the child’s self-confidence? Did it result to a bullied student’s hesitance to come to school?” Go added.

He added that bullying should not just be treated as misbehavior.

Go, chairman of the Senate committee on health and demography, also stressed the importance of understanding the wider implications of bullying, particularly its impact on the mental health of the victims.

The senator believes that the issue could escalate into a mental health problem in the long run as he highlighted alarming statistics in 2021, which showed 404 learners committed suicide and 2,147 others attempted to commit suicide.

Go has advocated for the integration of mental health facilities into existing Department of Health (DOH) regional hospitals nationwide.

He is a principal sponsor and one of the authors of Republic Act 11959, also known as the Regional Specialty Centers Act, which was signed into law by President Marcos last Aug. 24. The law mandates the establishment of regional specialty centers within existing DOH regional hospitals.

This intervention strategy aligns with the Department of Education’s ongoing efforts to tackle bullying. DepEd has implemented various anti-bullying programs through its Learner Rights Protection Office and Bureau of Learners Support Services, which include mental health initiatives and counseling projects.