Bullying: A national emergency

The edge-of-your-seat Netflix drama “Adolescence” has put the spotlight on issues that a young person may face as an adolescent. One of the themes tackled in the series is bullying.

This is a problem felt across the globe but especially in the Philippines, given the rampant social media use in the country and the lack of trained experts in schools to properly respond to such challenges.

Now, indeed, is as good a time as any to call for an end to bullying in our schools. It is no longer just an education issue – it is a national emergency.

I couldn’t help but notice the rising reports of students being harassed and humiliated in places meant to nurture them. Aren’t Filipino schools supposed to be sanctuaries for learning and not battlegrounds where students fear for their dignity and well-being?

And yet, recent figures from the Department of Education (DepEd) are alarming. In the National Capital Region alone, bullying incidents rose to 2,500 cases for school year 2024-2025, a troubling increase from the previous year.

International assessments like the PISA consistently show that Filipino students are experiencing more bullying than their global peers.

The implementation of Republic Act 10627, the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013, remains wanting as many schools still lack the tools, training or urgency to respond swiftly and effectively. The current surge in cases shows that policies, no matter how well written, are not enough.

Against this backdrop, I commend Education Secretary Sonny Angara’s bold move to convene the largest-ever Executive Committee meeting to address bullying.

Calling bullying a “national priority that demands a whole-of-government, whole-of-society response” is both timely and necessary.

Secretary Sonny is right in pushing for a united response, which is now underway.

DepEd, the Philippine National Police, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior and Local Government are now working in concert.

On the part of the PNP, it plans to increase visibility in high-risk schools and act on severe cases, providing an added layer of protection.

For its part, the DSWD plans to create a Parent Effectiveness Office, which aims to prevent issues at home before they reach school grounds, while DILG’s revival of the Comprehensive Barangay Juvenile Intervention Program targets early intervention in communities.

Equally important are interventions inside schools. There will be enhanced Values Education, backed by experts and groups like UNICEF and Save the Children. These will equip students with emotional tools to respond to bullying with empathy and resilience.

New safety policies, crisis protocols and a school operations manual promise clear, system-wide action.

What would be most crucial in addressing the problem, I believe, is implementation.

Training, funding, monitoring and community participation must follow. Helplines and safe reporting mechanisms must be accessible. Teachers and principals must feel empowered and supported.

Indeed, a whole-of-society approach is necessary in addressing bullying.

Within families, parents or guardians must also teach their children to grow in a world with respect and empathy for others.

I can only imagine the long-term trauma that victims of bullying experience – anxiety, depression, self-harm and academic failure. It destroys confidence and derails futures. Every child hurt by bullying is a national loss.

School bullying linked to GDP losses

A study from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), published just last week, also reveals that the long-term effects of bullying among students could shrink the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by up to P20 billion annually.

PIDS estimates that 36 percent of Filipino students fall into the top 10 percent of most bullied students globally, based on the 2018 PISA data.

PIDS senior research fellow Dr. Michael Abrigo, lead author of the study “School bullying contributes to lower PISA achievement among Filipino students: Who gets bullied? Why does it matter?” presented the findings during a webinar on April 10, 2025.

He said the consequences of bullying are far-reaching – not just on academic achievements and mental health, but also on future employment opportunities and earning potential.

These individual setbacks can accumulate over time and across the student population contribute to a measurable loss in national economic productivity.

“To quantify the economic implications, Abrigo’s team used established human capital models to estimate how learning losses linked to bullying impact future earnings and, consequently, GDP. They found that bullying accounts for a sizeable share of the gap in academic performance. The projected loss to the country’s GDP ranges from 0.05 to 0.08 percentage points annually – or about P10 to P20 billion,” PIDS said.

Imagine that.

Tracking inequalities

Bullying, I learned from this PIDS study, follows existing inequalities. It’s a realization because when I was studying in an all-girls high school, I used to think that spoiled, rich kids were the biggest bullies.

It turns out, the highest risks were found in areas with broader socio-economic vulnerabilities.

Students who have repeated grade levels or experienced hunger are also more than twice as likely to be bullied compared to their peers.

We can do something about bullying, Abrigo said, by providing better support systems for school heads, teachers and counselors.

We must act now, decisively and together, because every day we wait is another day that a child suffers in silence.

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Email: [email protected]. Follow her on X @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.