WE express alarm over the incident of bullying at the Ateneo de Manila Junior High School which was captured in a video. It showed a student beating another inside one of the campus’s comfort rooms.
We encourage the public to exercise a higher level of understanding on this very sensitive issue, as it involves two minors, and avoid prejudices or actions that may not be helpful in the resolution of the case.
We believe that a school is a second home to children. It should be a place where they can learn, play, hone skills and exercise critical thinking. However, the incident is a clear and disturbing testament that despite our efforts to put up measures that purport to promote child-friendly, safe and nurturing spaces for learning, bullying in schools continues to happen.
We are again reminded of our responsibility to battle bullying, which is nothing but a figment of the prevailing culture of violence that happens in many forms and in various context.
We believe that the best way to discipline the bully child is to help him admit his mistakes, take responsibility for his actions and learn how to change his aggressive behavior. The key to fulfilling this is to understand deeper its context.
While we understand the public outrage towards the incident, we urge everyone to avoid actions that embolden the culture of violence. By inciting harm against the child and his family, we are unwittingly committing the same act of bullying that we are supposedly condemning.
On the other hand, what is more alarming now is that the Duterte government and its allies are using the issue as a springboard to advance their agenda of attacking its critics and discounting the human rights advocacy of the education institution involved.
Moreover, we believe that the public should all the more heighten its vigilance against bigger bullies occupying various positions in the government.--Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns