Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte is leading a campaign to educate parents on bullying as part of her values formation program.
She recently held an anti-bullying seminar for parents at the Manuel L. Quezon Elementary School, saying cyber-bullying is the most prevalent form of bullying among young people.
“Based on the survey, almost 80 percent of the youth have been victims of cyber-bullying. Those who bully on the internet have the guts to do so since it would be hard to identify them and get back at them,” Belmonte said.
“This is why we have to closely monitor the friends of our children on the social media,” she added.
The vice mayor also brought attention to emotional bullying, in which young people’s emotions are being manipulated; verbal bullying, in which children are subjected to hurtful statements and gossip; and physical bullying, in which children are physically assaulted or their belongings damaged.
Persistent bullying could lead to children’s death, she said.
Belmonte reminded parents that all schools must have anti-bullying policies that would inform parents on what to do in case their children are involved as victims or perpetrators of acts of bullying.
As presiding officer of the city council, she backed the passing of Ordinance No. SP-2157, S-2012, or the Bullying Ordinance of Quezon City, that aims to “put an end to the alarming problem of bullying among students.”