Anti Bullying Policy
Anti Bullying Policy
Anti Bullying Policy
St. Benilde Center for Global Competence, Inc. values a healthy and peaceful educational
environment.
All members of St. Benilde community, which includes students, parents and guardians,
and the community members should be made aware of the negative effects that bullying can have
on victims and St. Benilde in general, and should work towards ensuring that students can work
in an environment without fear.
St. Benilde will do whatever is reasonably necessary and possible within its authority to
eradicate bullying in all its forms.
I. Preliminary Provisions
Section 1. Legal Basis. This Policy is adopted in compliance with Republic Act No. 10627,
otherwise known as the “Anti-Bullying Act of 2013”.
Section 2. Scope and Coverage. This Policy applies to the Senior High School programs at St.
Benilde, hereafter referred to as the “School”.
Section 3. The following shall be the parties and/or stakeholders in bullying incidents:
1. Bully - refers to a student who commits any of the acts of bullying as defined in R.A.
No. 10627, its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), and this Policy. This term
also includes a student who participates in any of the acts of bullying by supporting or
aiding the commission thereof.
2. Bystander - refers to any student who witnesses or has personal knowledge of any
actual or perceived acts or incidents of bullying or retaliation as defined by R.A. No.
10627, its IRR, and this Policy. Bystanders include the silent majority of students who
witness bullying but are unable to do something because of fear; and those who try to
stop bullying by defending the victim or reporting the incident.
3. Bullied or Victim – refers to any student who experiences the acts of bullying or
retaliation as defined by R.A. No. 10627, its IRR, and this Policy.
4. Parent or Guardian - refers to the parent or guardian, of either the bully or victim,
or other students involved in the bullying incident, on record with the School.
5. School – refers to St. Benilde Center for Global Competence, Inc.
6. School Personnel - refers to all staff and employees of St. Benilde; regardless of rank
or status; whether classified as academic, academic-support, or non- academic; and
whether full-time or part-time; and whether probationary, contractual, or regular.
7. Service Providers - refers to outsourced personnel of the school, which includes, but
is not necessarily limited to, maintenance and security, coaches, trainers, and drivers
and staff of accredited transport or bus services.
Section 4. Statement of Policy. St. Benilde as a matter of policy prohibits bullying in all its
forms, regardless of the means, place and time of its commission.
Section 5. Definition of Bullying. St. Benilde adheres to the definition of bullying including the
different forms, as provided in the IRR of R.A. No. 10627, which provides:
“Bullying” refers to any severe, or repeated use by one or more students of a written,
verbal or electronic expression, or a physical act or gesture, or any combination thereof,
directed at another student that has the effect of actually causing or placing the latter in
reasonable fear of physical or emotional harm or damage to his property; creating a
hostile environment at school for the other student; infringing on the rights of another
student at school; or materially and substantially disrupting the education process or the
orderly operation of a school; such as, but not limited to, the following:
(1) Any unwanted physical contact between the bully and the victim like punching,
pushing, shoving, kicking, slapping, tickling, headlocks, inflicting school pranks, teasing,
fighting and the use of available objects as weapons;
(2) Any act that causes damage to a victim’s psyche and/or emotional wellbeing;
(3) Any slanderous statement or accusation that causes the victim undue emotional
distress like directing foul language or profanity at the target, name calling, tormenting
and commenting negatively on victim’s looks, clothes and body;
(4) “Cyber- bullying” or any bullying done through the use of technology or any
electronic means. The term shall also include any conduct resulting to harassment,
intimidation, or humiliation, through the use of other forms of technology, such as, but
not limited to texting, email, instant messaging, chatting, internet, social media, online
games, or other platforms or formats as defined in DepED Order No. 40, s. 2012.
Section 6. Other Forms of Bullying. The term “bullying” shall also include:
(1) “Social bullying” – refers to any deliberate, repetitive and aggressive social behavior
intended to hurt others or to belittle another individual or group;
(2) “Gender-based bullying” – refers to any act that humiliates or excludes a person on
the basis of perceived or actual sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI);
(3) Retaliation against a student who reports bullying, who provides information during
an investigation of bullying, or who is a witness to or has reliable information about
bullying; and
(4) All other forms of bullying analogous to those provided under the Anti - Bullying
Law and its IRR.
Section 7. Common Forms of Bullying. The common forms of bullying shall include, but is not
necessarily limited to, the following:
2. Rudeness and Intimidation. These may be done through unwanted physical acts but
may also be carried through non-verbal means. A mean look or stare is an example of
a non-verbal bullying.
3. Threats and extortion. Creating fear and extorting money, food or possessions from
other students. Threatening texts or messages in chat rooms and social media sites are
included in this form.
4. Malicious gossip and exclusion from the group. Circulating gossip or damaging
stories that tends to discriminate, exclude, and hate another student.
Section 8. Fair and equal treatment of bullying incidents. The School shall address each and
every bullying incident fairly and equally. All forms of bullying should be taken seriously and
dealt with appropriately.
Section 9. Situs of Bullying. The School has the authority to impose school discipline to its
students including this Policy. This authority of the School is not confined within the School
premises.
The School particularly undertakes to prevent and address bullying committed at the
following:
c. On Cyberspace. Text messages, emails, chat rooms, and other social media and web
sites regardless of the web site administrator’s permission to use foul or explicit
language or content, or absence of any particular standard of use.
Section 10. St. Benilde shall raise the awareness of the anti-social nature of bullying through
various programs; assemblies; activities; and integration in the curriculum as it may deem
appropriate.
The School undertakes to develop anti-bullying programs that are comprehensive, multi-
faceted and shall involve all education stakeholders and personnel. The programs may contain
among others:
(4) Monitoring students who are vulnerable to committing aggressive acts or who are
perpetrators of bullying, or who are possible targets or victims, for the purpose of early
intervention. This activity shall be conducted with utmost confidentiality and respect for all
parties concerned.
Section 11. Early Detection of Bullying. There are signs indicative that a student is being
bullied in school. A change in the student’s behavior or actions, change in the student’s routines,
or the absence or presence of other circumstances, may be a sign that the student is a victim of
bullying. The teacher, parents or guardian shall check and report to School authorities these
changes should they become manifest. These changes may include the following:
Section 12. St. Benilde shall develop intervention programs to promote the continuity of
comprehensive anti-bullying policies.
Intervention refers to a series of activities which are designed to address the following:
Section 13. Forms of Intervention. Interventions may include programs such as counseling, life
skills training, education, and other activities that will enhance the psychological, emotional and
psycho-social well-being of both the victim and the bully.
Such programs may:
Section 14. The School shall develop intervention strategies involving all parties, such as bullies,
victims, bystanders, parents, school personnel, service providers and all other persons who may
be affected by the bullying incident.
Section 15. The following are the responsibilities of stakeholders in bullying incidents:
(1) Bully
a. Avoid retaliation;
b. Report his/her experience to the teacher, Office of the Students’ Development and
Services / Guidance and Counseling Center, or other persons or school authorities; and
c. Be circumspect in his/her claims against the alleged bully.
(3) Bystander
a. Promptly report cases of bullying, that which he or she witnessed or has personal
knowledge of, to the teacher, Office of the Students’ Development and Services /
Guidance and Counseling Center, or any person or school authorities;
b. Not to join the bullying;
c. Secure the safety of the victim whenever possible without causing harm to himself or
herself.
(4) School
The School through the Office of the Students’ Development and Services / Guidance and
Counseling Center, teachers and other school administrators shall:
a. Participate and cooperate in all prevention, intervention, and other measures related to
bullying by the School;
b. Report incidents of bullying;
c. Update himself/herself on detection and proper handling of bullying incidents;
d. Be objective and handle incidents with due consideration of confidentiality and tender
age of students involved;
e. Coordinate closely with the Child Protection Committee of the school; and
f. Observe due diligence in the prevention of bullying cases during classes or other
student activities he/she is directly in charge of.
Students shall:
a. Participate and cooperate in all prevention, intervention and other measures related to
bullying implemented by the School;
b. Avoid or refrain from any act of bullying;
c. Intervene to protect the victim, unless it will jeopardize his safety and security; and
d. Report to school authorities any incident of bullying.
(7) Parents
Parents shall:
c. Not to take matters into their own hands in resolving bullying incidents.
Section 16. The Anti-Bullying Committee. The School’s existing Child Protection Committee
(CPC) shall also be designated as the School’s Anti-Bullying Committee as required under
DepEd Order No. 40, series of 2012.
a. Principal – Chairperson
b. Guidance Counselor – Vice Chairperson
c. Representative of the Teachers
d. Representative of the Parents
e. Representative of students; and
f. Representative from the Community as designated by the Punong Barangay, preferably
a member of the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC). (If necessary)
Section 18. Functions. The Anti-Bullying Committee shall perform the following tasks:
Section 20. Effect of Institution of Criminal Action. The filing of criminal complaint by either
or both the bully and the bullied before the law enforcement agencies, prosecutor’s office, or
courts of law shall not operate to divest St. Benilde of its authority to conduct its own
investigation, fact finding, and/or disciplinary proceeding on the students involved.
Section 21. Immediate Responses. The victim or anyone who witnesses or has personal
knowledge of a bullying incident or retaliation shall immediately call the attention of any school
personnel. The school personnel who was notified of a bullying incident or retaliation shall
intervene, by:
2. The School shall inform the parents or guardian of the victim and the bully about the
incident.
5. Teachers shall make sure that no bullying incident should be kept unreported or
unnoticed. For this purpose, a Record of Bullying Incidents Form is designed and
developed where teachers in charge may keep track of bullying incidents or indications in
the classroom or off-campus activities. The same shall be kept in strictest confidence in a
central file with the Guidance and Counseling Center.
The Office of the Students’ Development and Services / Guidance and Counseling Center:
1. Separately interview in private the bully or offending student and the victim.
2. Determine the levels of threats and develop intervention strategies. If the bullying
incident or retaliation or the situation requires immediate attention or intervention, or the
level of threat is high, appropriate action shall be taken by the school within twenty-four
hours (24) from the time of the incident.
3. Inform the victim and the parents or guardian of the steps to be taken to prevent any
further acts of bullying or retaliation; and
Section 24. Referral to Experts Outside of the School. The School may, upon evaluation, refer
the victim and the bully to trained professionals outside the school, such as social workers,
guidance counselors, psychologists, or child protection specialists, for further assessment and
appropriate intervention measures, as may be necessary. The School also undertakes to notify the
Women and Children’s Protection Desk (WPCD) of the local Philippine National Police, in
appropriate cases involving the bully or offending student.
Section 25. Where students resist or refuse to respond to intervention or preventative strategies
to address bullying, St. Benilde will resort to stringent actions to deal with persistent and violent
bullying. Disciplinary actions may or may not be resorted to by St. Benilde depending on the
circumstances of each case with due consideration to the age of the students or pupils involved.
1) A Complaint; or
2) A Motu Proprio Charge from the Office of the Students’ Development and
Services / Guidance and Counseling Center, on the basis of a report of the teacher,
school personnel or bystanders.
(1) The complaining student with the assistance of his or her parents;
(2) Or solely by the parents on the basis of their child’s statements.
C. In both instances, the Complaint must be duly sworn to by the executing student
and/or parent stating clearly how the act/s of bullying was/were committed and other
attendant circumstances. The complaining party may attach sworn statements of
witnesses and other proofs to substantiate the Complaint.
D. The Complaint or Charge for Bullying shall be filed with Office of the Students’
Development and Services / Guidance and Counseling Center.
E. Office of the Students’ Development and Services / Guidance and Counseling Center
shall furnish the parents of the respondent student/s a copy of the Complaint or Charge
and direct the student/s concerned with the assistance of the parents to file a Sworn
Answer within a period of forty-eight (48) hours or within a reasonable period from
receipt of the Complaint or Charge as may be allowed under the circumstances.
F. Upon receipt of the Sworn Answer, the Office of the Students’ Development and
Services / Guidance and Counseling Center may schedule a conference with the
Complainant and/or the Respondent separately to clarify the allegations in the Complaint
and the Sworn Answer. The Office of the Students’ Development and Services / Guidance
and Counseling Center, may also interview witnesses, bystanders, and others who may
have knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the incident.
G. The Office of the Students’ Development and Services / Guidance and Counseling
Center shall then issue a resolution on the Complaint or Charge stating clearly its basis. A
resolution finding the commission of bullying shall state the appropriate sanction. The
resolution shall be deemed a recommendation to the Principal, which the latter may either
disapprove or modify. The decision of the Principal may be subject to reconsideration, or
appeal to the Schools Division, within a period of ten (10) calendar days from receipt of
the decision.
1) If the act of bullying committed does not fall under any offense defined in the Student
Manual, the following sanctions shall apply:
2) If the act of bullying committed falls under an offense already defined and prohibited
in the Student Manual, the higher penalty or sanction shall apply.
3) Depending on the seriousness or gravity of the offense committed and/or the extent of
injuries suffered by the victim, St. Benilde reserves the right to impose the extreme
penalty of expulsion subject to approval of the Department of Education.
4) In addition to the disciplinary sanction imposed, St. Benilde may, after careful
evaluation, likewise refer the alleged bully and/or the alleged victim for counseling of
School’s Guidance Counselor or to a private counselor of their choice, or to other
intervention programs of St. Benilde should it become necessary.
Section 28. Preventive Suspension. St. Benilde may at its discretion and during the pendency of
the investigation, put any student on preventive suspension for a period not longer than three (3)
school days, if there is reason to believe that the presence of said student might put him/her at
risk of more harm, or will jeopardize the general peace and order of the campus. Such preventive
suspension may extend to the parents or guardians of the students involved in the incident. In
such case, the parents are barred from entering the School’s premises or attend School activities
during the said suspension.
Section 29. False Accusation of Bullying. If a student, after an investigation, is found to have
knowingly made a false accusation of bullying, the said student shall be subjected to the same
disciplinary actions or to appropriate interventions for “bullies” under this Policy.
Section 30. Confidentiality. Any information relating to the identity and personal circumstances
of the bully, victim, or bystander shall be treated with utmost confidentiality by the Anti-Bullying
Committee, teacher concerned, and the Office of the Students’ Development and Services /
Guidance and Counseling Center, provided that the names may be made available to the parents
or guardians of students who are or have been victims of bullying or retaliation. Any school
personnel who commit a breach of confidentiality shall be subject to appropriate sanctions
including termination of employment as may be provided in the School’s Employee’s Handbook.
Section 31. This policy was adopted by the Board of Management on ________________ [date].
This policy has been made available to school personnel, published on the school website
(or where none exists, is otherwise readily accessible to parents and pupils on request) and
provided to the Parents’ Association (where one exists). A copy of this policy will be made
available to the Department and the patron if requested.
This policy and its implementation will be reviewed by the Board of Management once in
every school year.
A record of the review and its outcome will be made available, if requested, to the patron
and the Department.
Section 32. Effectivity. This Policy shall take effect immediately upon the date of its approval
and shall not be modified, altered, amended or repealed unless otherwise resolved through a
valid Resolution of the Board of Managementof St. Benilde.
The following are some practical tips for immediate actions that can be taken to help build a
positive school culture and climate and to help prevent and tackle bullying behavior.
Model respectful behavior to all members of the school community at all times.
Explicitly teach students what respectful language and respectful behavior looks like, acts
like, sounds like and feels like in class and around the school.
Display key respect messages in classrooms, in assembly areas and around the school.
Involve students in the development of these messages.
Catch them being good - notice and acknowledge desired respectful behavior by
providing positive attention.
Consistently tackle the use of discriminatory and derogatory language in the school – this
includes homophobic and racist language and language that is belittling of students with a
disability.
Give constructive feedback to students when respectful behavior and respectful language
are absent.
Positively encourage students to comply with the school rules on mobile phone and
internet use.
Follow up and follow through with students who ignore the rules.
Actively involve parents and/or the Parents’ Association in awareness raising campaigns
around social media.
Actively promote the right of every member of the school community to be safe and
secure in school.
Highlight and explicitly teach school rules in student friendly language in the classroom
and in common areas.
All staff can actively watch out for signs of bullying behavior.
Name: ___________________________________________
Grade / Block / Strand: ___________________________________________
Student concerned
Other student
4. Location of incidents Parent (check relevant box(es))
Teacher
Activity(specify)
Others area
Classroom
Corridor
Comfort room
Laboratory
Others (specify
Physical Aggression
Cyber-bullying
Damage to Property
Intimidation
Others
Isolation/Exclusion
Malicious Gossip
Name Calling
Other (specify)
* Note: The categories listed in the tables 3, 4 & 6 are suggested and schools may add to or
amend these to suit their own circumstances.
Appendix 3: Checklist for Annual Review of the Anti-Bullying Policy of St. Benilde and its
Implementation
The Board of Management (the Board) must undertake an annual review of the school’s Anti-
Bullying Policy and its Implementation. The following checklist must be used for this purpose.
The checklist is an aid to conducting this review and is not intended as an exhaustive list.
Yes No
Has the Board formally adopted an Anti-Bullying Policy that fully complies with
the requirements of the Republic Act No. 10627, otherwise known as the “Anti-
Bullying Act of 2013”?
Has the Board published the policy on the school website and provided a copy to
the parents’ association?
Has the Board ensured that the policy has been made available to school staff
(including new staff)?
Is the Board satisfied that school staff are sufficiently familiar with the policy and
procedures to enable them to effectively and consistently apply the policy and
procedures in their day to day work?
Has the Board ensured that the policy has been adequately communicated to all
students?
Has the policy documented the prevention and education strategies that the school
applies?
Have all of the prevention and education strategies been implemented?
Has the effectiveness of the prevention and education strategies that have been
implemented been examined?
Is the Board satisfied that all teachers are recording and dealing with incidents in
accordance with the policy?
Has the Board received and minuted the periodic summary reports of the
Principal?
Has the Board discussed how well the school is handling all reports of bullying
including those addressed at an early stage and not therefore included in the
Principal’s periodic report to the Board?
Has the Board received any complaints from parents regarding the school’s
handling of bullying incidents?
Have any parents withdrawn their child from the school citing dissatisfaction with
the school’s handling of a bullying situation?
Has the data available from cases reported to the Principal (by the bullying
recording template) been analyzed to identify any issues, trends or patterns in
bullying behavior?
Has the Board identified any aspects of the school’s policy and/or its
implementation that require further improvement?
Has the Board put in place an action plan to address any areas for improvement?
Signed: _______________________________ __________________
Mr. Joseph J. Tabirara Date Signed
(Chairperson of the Board of Management)
To: _____________________________________
The Board of Management of St. Benilde Center for Globbal Competence, Inc. wishes to inform
you that:
The Board of Management’s annual review of St. Benilde’s Anti-Bullying Policy and its
Implementation was completed at the Board meeting of _______________ [date].
This review was conducted in accordance with the checklist set out in Appendix 3 of the
St. Benilde’s Anti-Bullying Policy.