School bullies beware: the policeman on patrol is watching you.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) has ordered its field units to closely coordinate with local education officials to prevent cases of bullying in schools as millions of students troop back to schools starting today.
At the Department of Education, Secretary Armin Luistro signed the implementing rules of the anti-bullying law.
Punishing school bullies should be the last resort for school officials, who should first try “interventions” to help not only the victims but the bully as well, Education Secretary Armin Luistro said Friday.
“What we want to protect are the children. This is not a law about filing charges here and there, but how to address [bullying] because we believe no child is inherently bad,” Luistro said after signing the implementing rules for the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013 (Republic Act 10627).
Aside from disciplinary measures to address bullying, the rules also spell out “intervention programs” meant to address “the issues that influence a student to commit bullying, factors that make a student a target of bullying, and the effects of bullying.”
Interventions include counseling, life skills training, education “and other activities that will enhance the psychological, emotional and psycho-social wellbeing of both the victim and the bully.”
“Punishment is not the first resort. We determine the acts and if there is a need for disciplinary action, there should be due notice and hearing,” Education Undersecretary for legal affairs Alberto Muyot said.
He admitted many cases of bullying remain unreported even after DepEd came out with a child protection policy in June 2012.
With the law, all public and private kindergarten, elementary and secondary schools are required to have their mechanisms to address bullying.
The school has the primary jurisdiction over students and personnel involved in cases of bullying, including cases that occur within the school grounds, in off-campus school activities, at school bus stops and on accredited school buses.
Police look out
More than 18,000 policemen would be deployed nationwide to conduct foot patrols and set up police assistance desks near academic institutions on the opening day of classes.
Chief Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac, PNP public information office chief, said police stations were also instructed to manage the flow of traffic and protect students from petty criminals.
“All PNP units were ordered to increase police visibility near the school premises to prevent out-of-school youth from bullying students,” Sindac said.
Citing previous cases of bullying, he said neighborhood toughies and street children often prey on students by extorting money or food from them.
Sindac said 7,441 police assistance desks would be set up across the country where students and other individuals may report cases of bullying and other crimes.
Besides bullying, he said the policemen were also tasked to prevent common street crimes like snatching, swindling, robbery and street-level drug trafficking.
He said the PNP has asked the assistance of village councils and local government units in providing security to students and academic institutions.
Sindac also urged the students not to wear jewelry and bring expensive gadgets to schools to avoid attracting the attention of snatchers.