PALO, Leyte – The Philippine National Police (PNP) here in Eastern Visayas continue on their advocacy on anti-bullying in schools.
With the start of the school year on Monday(June 3), Police Regional Office 8 Deputy Regional Director for Administration Brigadier General Ariel Arcenas said that policemen are not only after ensuring that children are safe in going to their schools but are safe while staying inside their school campuses and classrooms.
Arcenas said that they are regularly conducting their information drive among students on the negative effects of bullying to victims and even to those who are behind the bullying.
“We are asking people, especially our students, to refrain bullying others because it is not good,” Arcenas said.
Under Section 2 of Republic Act 10627 or the “Anti-Bullying Act of 2013” it states that bullying refers to any severe or repeated use by one or more students of a written, verbal or electronic expression, or a physical act or gesture 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; creating a hostile environment at school for the other student; infringes the rights of the other student at school; or materially and substantially disrupts the education process or the orderly operation of a school.
“We are recommending that the school authorities should act to it first then inform us so we can also react accordingly. If this involves underage children this should be take can by schools and our social welfare workers,” Arcenas said.
More than 1.27 million students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 returned back to their schools on Monday for school year 2019-2020, based on the record of the regional office of the Department of Education.
Of these number 301, 529 are learners who avail the early registration of DepEd conducted in January which targeted Kindergarten, Grade 1, 7, 11 and transferee.
There are 110, 845 learners are in kindergarten, 615,814 are in elementary, 405, 521 are in junior high school while 138, 540 are in senior high school, for his school year.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
