HOUSE OF THE REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS

First Regular Session

nouse uno. 2639

Introduced by: Hon. Christopher S. Co, Rodel M. Batocabe and Alfredo A. Garbin, Jr,
EXPLANATORY NOTE

A safe and civil school environment is necessary for students to learn and achieve.
However, student development is hampered when there are incidents of violence,
harassment and fear among students, most exemplified in cases of bullying. Bullying causes
physical, psychological, and emotional harm to students and interferes with students ability
to learn and participate in school activities. tt has also been linked to other forms of
antisocial behavior, such as vandalism, shoplifting, skipping and dropping out of school,
fighting, using drugs and alcohol, sexual harassment, and sexual violence.

‘A new form of bullying is fast emerging with the advancements of technology.
Cyber-bullying happens in a realm where state power is weak, and where very few laws are
passed for regulation. This bill seeks to address the problem of bullying in the cyber world.

‘This bill seeks to mandate and compel schools to create a policy to address the
existence of bullying and cyber-bullying in their respective institutions. When there is
institutional recognition of this power imbalance among students, there will be more and
better venues to address incidents of bullying. This also seeks to instill the importance of
anti-bullying measures in academic institutions and among school administrators.

A direct correlation with the reduction of bullying incidents is the increase in
awareness and concern among school administrators of these incidents, and the positive
action of providing venues for parents, faculty and school officials to report such incidents to
the authorities. The quest for equality among persons and the advancement of human rights
start from basic ed(ication, where children learn the values of cura personalis and being men
‘and women fof others from their teachers, and apply what they've learned to their
classnfates anf/friends.

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cordingly, the swift passage of this bill is earnestly sought.



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF THE REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS

First Regular Session

2630

HOUSE BILL NO.
Introduced by: Hon. Christopher S. Co, Rodel M. Batocabe and Alfredo A. Garbin, Jr.

ANACT
MANDATING SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES TO CREATE AN ANTI-BULLYING
POLICY IN THEIR INSTITUTIONS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Title - This Act shall be known as the “ANTI-BULLYING SCHOOL
POLICY OF 2010",

SEC. 2. Bullying, defined. Bullying is committed when a minor student
commits a series of two or more acts directed towards another minor
student, or a series of single acts directed towards several minor students, in
a school setting or a place of learning, with the intent to constitute
harassment, intimidation, force, or humiliation. Such acts consist of any or
more of the following:

(a) Threats to a person with the infliction upon the person, honor or property
of the person or of his family of any wrong;

{b) Stalking or constantly following or pursuing a person in his daily activities
with unwanted, obsessive attention;

(c) Theft;

(d) Public humiliation or public and malicious imputation of a crime, or ofa
vice or defect, real or imaginary, or any act, omission, condition, status, or
circumstance tending to cause the dishonor, discredit, or contempt,
against a person;

(e) Deliberate destruction, defacement or damage of another's property;
(f) Physical violence committed upon a minor student, which may or may
not result to harm or injury, with or without the aid of a weapon. Such

violence may be in the form of mauling, hitting, punching, kicking,
throwing things at the student, pinching, spanking, or other similar acts;

{g) Demanding, requesting or requiring sexual or monetary favors, or
demands property from a minor student; and


limited to, texting, instant messaging, chatting, Internet and social
networking websites.

SEC. 4. Schoo! policy — All schools, colleges or universities, whether public or
private, shall create a policy to address the existence of bullying in their
respective institutions. Such policy shall include but is not limited to the
following provisions:

(a) provide for a process of addressing incidents of bullying in school;

(b) enable students to anonymously report acts of bullying to teachers and
school administrators;

(c) enable the parents or guardians of students to file written reports of
suspected bullying;

(d) require teachers and other school staff who witness acts of bullying or
receive student reports of bullying to notify school administrators;

(e) require school administrators to investigate any written reports filed
pursuant to subdivision of this section and to review any anonymous
reports;

(f) include an intervention strategy for schoo! staff to deal with bullying;

(g) provide for the inclusion of language in student codes of conduct
concerning bullying;

(h) require the parents or guardians of students who commit any verified
acts of bullying and the parents or guardians of students against whom
such acts were directed to be notified; and

(i) require the school to maintain a list of the number of verified acts of
bullying in such school and make such list available for public inspection.

SEC. 5. Submission of policy ~ Anti-bullying policies created in pursuance to
Section 4 of this Act shall be submitted to the Department of Education
(DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED) or the Technical Education
and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) within two (2) months from the
effectivity of this Act for existing schools, colleges and universities, and shall
be an administrative requirement in future schools, colleges and universities.

SEC. 6. Liability of the school administration — The heads of the agencies

mentioned in Section 6 of this Act shall impose administrative sanctions to
schools


SEC. 6. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders or rules and
regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are
hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 7. Effectivity Clause — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days from its
publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general
circulati