FOLLOWING THE viral circulation of some videos of an Ateneo Junior High School student bullying fellow students, the University has announced its decision to dismiss the student through a statement by University President Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ released on December 23.

The memo indicated that the student is “no longer allowed to come back to the Ateneo.”

Dismissal, according to Section 21 Ateneo Senior High School Student Handbook, may be given to students who commit violations that include, but are not limited to, fighting and physical assault. This is different from Section 23 on expulsion, which “debars the student from all private and public schools.”

Villarin also said in the statement that he has spoken to the families and “offered them his support” regarding the decision.

“The Ateneo is very clear on its stand against bullying,” the statement said.

Although Section 17.5 of the handbook has established policies against bullying, Villarin said that there is still a need to make sure that such policies are being followed and promoted in the community.

In line with this, he said that he has created a task force to “conduct a comprehensive study” on the incident and “ensure an independent audit of present measures and systems.”

He also added that the administration is still pursuing further investigation on the incident and the policies on bullying.

Villarin said that the task force and the investigations will hopefully help create a safer environment, which will prevent similar situations from happening again and allow victims to speak up against violence “without fear of retaliation or censure.”

The incident has warranted several expressions of shock and indignation from the public. It also reached the attention of Malacañang Palace and some politicians.  

They had strongly reprimanded the student and urged the Ateneo administration to respond accordingly. “The school should investigate the incidents and do something about it,” said Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo at a press briefing on December 21.

“You cannot be allowing bullying inside classroom and school,” he added.

Online circulation

Three videos had circulated, all of which featured the student verbally and physically assaulting his schoolmates.

The first video showed the perpetrator confronting a fellow student in the restroom, asking “bugbog o dignidad (beating or dignity)?” This resulted to an injury sustained by the victim.

The second video showed him brawling with another student, who retaliates, but was made to kneel afterwards. The third and final video showed the student in a verbal argument with another victim, which turned physical in the latter half of the video.

The videos of the incidents spread on Facebook and Twitter on December 19, where it gained increasing attention from netizens. The original posts have been taken down.

The Ateneo administration had been releasing several statements since the video circulated, assuring the public that they were properly investigating the matter.

No place for bullying

Social media users have expressed shock and outrage upon seeing the video. Many comments on the statements not only condemned the actions of the student, but also called for immediate disciplinary action.

Even the Malacañang Palace urged the Ateneo administration to “do something” about the situation. Panelo said that he was “bothered” after watching the video.

“Sabi ko nga, baka may nag-trigger, kasi parang sinasabi nila na the bata should undergo psychiatric exam (I said, maybe something triggered it, because they were saying that the child should undergo psychiatric exam),” said Panelo.

“Dapat talaga imbestigahan (It should really be investigated),” he added. “The school should investigate and do something about it.”

Meanwhile, as the student practiced Taekwondo skills to assault his victims, the Philippine Taekwondo Association released its own statement released on December 20.

“We, the Philippine Taekwondo Association, condemns (sic) any form of misbehavior which includes harassment, bullying, and acts of violence. This is not what Taekwondo instills to its practitioners and is a serious matter that we as an association stand against,” the statement read.

It also added that the association will “respect the school’s disciplinary action,” though they are launching their own investigation on the incident.

Call for light on other cases

Meanwhile, some brought up other pending cases on sensitive matters within the University, which they insist warrant more updates from Ateneo to the public.

“[P]arang weird na may update tungkol dito pero wala for other big cases like the sexual harassment case about that one prof (Second, it seems weird that there’s an update about this but not for other big cases like the sexual harassment case about that one professor),” wrote communication supersenior Dasha Uy in a tweet.

Regine Cabato (AB COM ‘16), also commented on the issue in a Facebook post, saying that while she is “glad” that Ateneo holds itself accountable, she wishes that the same response had been given in previous cases of sexual harassment.

“[W]hen our national politicians eagerly ride on the crucifixion of an obviously troubled teenager, he’s dropped like a hot potato for all the public—even outside the Ateneo community—to see? These cases are not parallel, but it’s so obvious which involves more public interest than the other,” she said.

Protection for minors, privacy measures

Netizens and human rights organizations also weighed in on how no other unnecessary private details, such as the bully’s name and address, should be spread on social media.

“[L]egal ba ‘yung ‘decision shared with the community’? Diba menor de edad yung dalawang involved [students] (Is ‘decision shared with the community’ legal? Aren’t the involved [students] two minors)?” said Uy in the same tweet.

Cabato also argued that Ateneo should not be entitled to give updates to the public regarding the student’s penalty.

“I’m bothered that Ateneo seems to be feeding our base instincts by a public announcement of this kid’s fate, and after the school took a stand against the lowering of the age of criminal liability,” said Cabato in the same Facebook post.

“I completely agree that parents/families of other students have a right to know how the school is handling bullying,” she said. “[W]e—the public social media mob who don’t even send our kids to Ateneo—don’t. Malacañang and senators don’t. Give out a disciplinary action then let the kid grow up.”

Save The Children Philippines, a children’s rights group, also released a statement, saying that although bullying must never be tolerated, there can be many underlying causes for the student’s behavior.

“There are a number of reasons why a child might bully another and this might include difficulties in managing anger and aggression, non-tolerance for individual differences, experiences of violence at home, or the lack of good role models at home,” it said.

They also said that the privacy of the students in the video, who are minors, must be protected. “Sharing the video of the bullying act in itself and calling for harsh punishments for the child who committed the bullying is cyber-bullying,” the statement further read.

Meanwhile, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has reminded the public of the repercussions of spreading the video around and mentioning the involved student’s name.

“It is imperative that the right to privacy and confidentiality of all children involved must always be protected, not only by the school administrators, the parents, other parties concerned, the media, as well as users of social networks,” the statement read.

“Coming up with definite and clear procedures and mechanisms on how to address the bullying will be of great help to all involved,” it added. “If continuous education, support, program and intervention will be made by the school officials regarding the bullying as mandated by the law, the same will effectively reduce if not, eliminate bullying cases even outside the school premises.”