Senate sets inquiry on school bullying

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April 8, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate will investigate bullying in schools and identify areas where government intervention is needed, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said yesterday.

The hearing today will focus on evaluating existing school policies and determine the government’s role in prevention and accountability, he said.

“We need to understand why these incidents are happening and why they are becoming rampant. This is very concerning, especially since it’s happening in our own schools,” Gatchalian noted.

Inviting parents and guardians to the hearings is being considered, he said.

Among the issues to be tackled, he said, is the lack of guidance counselors in schools, many of which only have designated guidance teachers due to staffing limitations.

“There is a shortcoming because there is a policy that assigns a guidance teacher who should be approached by students and parents in the event of bullying incidents. We need to address that,” Gatchalian said. “There is also a law regarding mental health and well-being.”

Enforcing the Anti-Bullying Law is important, he said, noting that parents and schools may be held civilly liable if they fail to act on reported cases.

As part of the ongoing evaluation, lawmakers are studying proposals to install more closed-circuit television cameras in classrooms.