Of bullies and the bullied

Lately, I have had two separate consultations involving victims or recipients of bullying in school. The students involved were male teenagers at the Grade 7 and Grade 9 levels, respectively. The first consult was a case of “bad tripan” during table tennis practice for varsity players. The male student was punched on the head and chest. Understandably, his mom was furious and requested a medical certificate. The party of the aggressor, on the other hand, sought consultation as well. It was like witnessing a teleserye on livestream. I was shaking my head internally. Such short tempers could have been avoided had cooler heads prevailed.

The second consult involved a graduating grade schooler who was bullied frequently by a repeat offender, a classmate who had a history of similar offenses against the same student. They were playing a game of blindfold when the poor teenager was punched in the stomach repeatedly. “Nabodega” was the term used by the guardian. Understandably, the guardian was furious and requested a medical certificate as well. I was shaking my head internally while being careful with the words I uttered, while trying to pacify and make rational decisions on the matter.

Reading the editorial of this paper dated March 22, 2026, reminded me of those two medical consults (see “Critical need to combat bullying”).

Republic Act No. 10627, or the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013, DOES NEED REVISITING AND REASSESSMENT.

The state of our educational system, the pervasiveness of social media, the seeming decline of good morals and right conduct among the youth today, whether they are in-school or out-of-school youth, the lack of teachers to monitor bullying, and the drought of available guidance counselors, psychometricians, and most importantly, responsible parents all contribute to our current situation of BULLIES AND THE BULLIED.

It sure does take a village to raise a CHILD, especially a MORALLY UPRIGHT human being.