THE father of the alleged bullied student in one of the exclusive schools in Davao City raised concern regarding the different platforms being used in bullying in schools any child could experience nowadays.
Ever Abasolo, in a mobile phone interview, said he opened the issue not to malign the school nor the children involved in the alleged bullying incident but he just wanted to raise the issue about online bullying so that the parents will become aware of what their children’s online activities are.
“Imagine, they (alleged bullies) used online bullying through voting poll kung bugbugin ba ‘yong anak ko o hindi,” he said.
He said his son was trembling when he received the screenshot of the poll.
“It can traumatize every child,” he said.
On Thursday, January 30, Abasolo filed a complaint against bullying incident in a grade 9 class of the Ateneo de Davao Junior High School to Nathaniel Limbo, the school’s Prefect of Student Affairs.
In the complaint, he narrated that on January 28, his son, the beadle of his class, found that his beadle board has been messed up and smeared with chocolate done by one of his classmates.
Abasolo added that there have been prior incidents where his son’s classmates would show their disdain towards him as the class beadle for listing the names of his classmates who violate class rules.
He said his son then refused to go to school the following day, January 29, although the class adviser informed his son that the students who messed up the beadle board was already willing to apologize.
However, in the evening of the same day, his son received a private online message from one of his classmates of a screenshot of a voting poll, apparently without his knowledge, where his classmates surveyed whether to have him physically beaten.
Abasolo, in the same complaint, said he was both surprised and bothered to see his son crying and trembling that night. He was also alarmed that this is how far things have already escalated.
Meanwhile, Limbo said through a mobile phone interview, prior to Abosolo’s filing of formal complaint, the school has already taken steps on the issue.
“Morning pa lang, since the formal complaint was sent to me late in the afternoon, morning pa lang I already talked to the class moderator who in turn talked to the class and conducted lecture on bullying and proper attitude,” he said.
He also said they have already talked to concerned students and that investigation is on process, which is the first step in handling bullying cases.
“We have to undergo the process. These kids are minors you cannot just make drastic action,” he said.
Furthermore, Abasolo said they have also reached out to the Department of Education-central office regarding the matter, who in turn, has transferred their complaint to the regional office.
Deped-Davao, he said, told them that they will also investigate the matter after the school has completed theirs.
Abasolo added that the parents should be aware about online bullying by poll because they would not know that one day the victim will be their own child, especially that this incident is usually perpetrated by entitled brats in schools.