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Address massive underreporting of bullying cases in schools - Gatchalian

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Adrian Ayalin, ABS-CBN News

MAANILA -- Senator Sherwin Gatchalian raised concerns on the number of cases of bullying reported by the Department of Education (DepEd), which does not add up to the numbers provided by groups such as the World Health Organization (WHO).In the hearing of the Senate Committee on Education presided by Gatchalian, he noted that the WHO said 40.6 percent of children are bullied while the Deped noted that pre-pandemic numbers of bullying cases from 2018 to 2019 reached 21,521.“The observation of our experts is there is massive underreporting at the school level,” Gatchalian said.Gatchalian noted that the WHO statistic would translate to 17 million students involved in bullying cases.He also noted that the Philippines is the number one country in terms of bullying prevalence, quoting data from the Programme International Student Assessment (PISA). Gatchalian also noted that the PISA number, 40 percent of learners aged 15 are frequently bullied students, which is also consistent with the data of the WHO.“So nakakabahala ho na (It is bothersome how) among many countries, in fact some of the countries are also developing nations, but we have the highest in terms of bullying,&quot; Gatchalian said.The DepEd acknowledged the high number of bullying cases.“That is the reason why we want to create new avenues for them to directly report, and that’s why the learner telesafe center or contact center is intended to help gather reports direct from the learners,” Assistant Secretary Dexter Galban said.Galban stated during the hearing that bullying cases may be reported through their hotline numbers 86321372 and 0945-1759777 as well as through weprotectlearners@deped.gov.ph email address.Galban said at least 194 bullying cases have already reached the Deped.A guidance counselor also noted that schools need to increase their efforts against bullying by having a dedicated discipline officer.“Ang nakikita natin kasi ang mga counselors kasi sa ibang eskwelahan ay nagiging disciplinarian sa ibang eskwelahan so hindi ho natin trabaho yun, ang trabaho ng isang guidance counselor ay hindi nag-iimbestiga,” Philippine Guidance and Counseling Association President Dr. Sheila Marie Hocson said.(What we&#x27;re seeing is that in some schools, guidance counselors are used as disciplinarians. But that is not our job. A guidance counselor&#x27;s job is not to investigate.)The Save the Children Philippines meantime raised concerns on bullies who also need help pscyho-social help.“We believe that, while we do not, we do not condone bullying but bullying has underlying reasons that need to be addressed in helping the child in changing their behavior in the long term,” said Save the Children Philippines Child Protection Advisor.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/life/02/02/23/how-parents-should-address-mental-health-issues-among-students">How parents should address mental health issues among students</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/01/31/23/number-of-students-suffering-from-mental-health-issues-growing">Number of students suffering from mental health issues growing</a></li></ul>

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian raised concerns on the number of cases of bullying reported by the Department of Education. 

Address massive underreporting of bullying cases in schools - Gatchalian

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Address massive underreporting of bullying cases in schools - Gatchalian

Adrian Ayalin,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 13, 2023 04:22 PM PHT

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DepEd

Department of Education

bullying

mental health

guidance counselor

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