Bullying cases among students are now being better addressed with the formulation of anti-bullying programs and policies in all schools in Region 2, an official of the Department of Education (DepEd) regional office here said.
DepEd’s Education Support Services Division chief Ferdinand Narciso said each schools’ division in the region have its own unique programs and policies implemented to address bullying and other issues concerning the welfare of the pupils and students.
For the regional office, the DepEd Text (DEText) Dos is a feedback mechanism program that addresses complaints on child abuses and bullying. “The message is directly received by the office of the regional director for appropriate action,” Narciso said.
During the Tipon-Tipan sa PIA guesting of the focal persons of the DepEd Region 2’s Youth Formation Program and Career Guidance Programs, on March 27, Narciso revealed that all schools under the Schools Division Office of Tuguegarao City have their own ABCs where cases of bullying are addressed and given proper intervention if needed.
For his part, Neil Cumigad, Cagayan National High School guidance counsellor, said they have a functional Anti-Bullying Council (ABC) in their school .
The ABC, according to Cumigad, is composed of teachers and youth trained as peer facilitators to address bullying issues/cases. However, if the case cannot be solved within the council, Cumigad said it will be referred to the adviser of the student involved then later to his office.
“The ABC has also its mechanism to track cases of bullying-related issues, which we want to standardize and be adopted by all schools regionwide,” Narciso said.
On the other hand, some schools conduct their Parenting and Partnership Project, a conference where parents bring out their issues and concerns to the teachers and school officials so that it will be immediately addressed.
Narciso said the department, through DepEd Order No. 40, series 2012 or the DepEd Child Protection Policy, reminds all public schools to enforce anti-bullying policies and not to tolerate any form of violence.
The department continues to call for the participation of parents and guardians to discipline their children at home and help reinforce their children’s learning and not to entrust everything to the school.(By Gene V. Baquiran)
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