DAVAO City Councilor Enzo Villafuerte claimed there are a lot of bullying cases in the city but schools have not taken action to address these.
“Nag-interview ko og mga parents kung naa ba silay experiences of bullying diri sa schools nato sa Davao, and daghan kog na-estoryahan nga naa gyud cases of bullying and wala’y ginabuhat ang mga teachers nato and principals nato para i-address ang bullying (I have talked to some parents and asked them if they have experiences of bullying here in the schools in the city, and I found out that there really existing cases but neither teachers nor principals have acted on it),” Villafuerte said during his interview on Davao City Disaster Radio on January 5, 2022.
Despite the existence of the national law of Anti-Bullying, in 2022 Villafuerte proposed a city ordinance to expand and strengthen the law to fight against bullying in the city.
“Karun nakita nato nga taas ang cases of suicide, depression, maybe during the pandemic and since stay at home ra man ta mahimo pud rampant ang cyber-bullying. So, through this ordinance, maprotektahan nato tong ma-bully (We have observed that there is a high number of suicide cases and depression. Maybe due to the pandemic, since we used to be at home, cyber-bullying was also happening. Through this ordinance we will be able to protect those who were bullied),” he said.
He said the proposed ordinance will also form an Anti-Bullying Council to apprehend violators as well as the school administrators.
“If dili i-address sa mga schools ang bullying or workplaces, ipatawag sila kay nganong wala sila’y nabuhat bahin ani nga kaso (If bullying in schools or workplaces cannot be addressed, the management will be summoned by the council),” he said.
He added that even resolved cases with unsatisfactory results will also be taken care by the council.
“Sila ang mag-recommend kung unsa pay pwede buhaton with regards sa cases (They will decide and recommend on the actions with regards to the case),” he said.
Villafuerte said the proposed ordinance will cover all schools from primary to tertiary level, as well as workplaces. KSD