Republic Act No.

10627
September 12, 2013

H. No. 5496

Republic of the Philippines

Congress of the Philippines
Metro Manila
Fifteenth Congress
Third Regular Session

Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-third day of July, two
thousand twelve.

[REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10627]

AN ACT REQUIRING ALL ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS TO

ADOPT POLICIES TO PREVENT AND ADDRESS THE ACTS OF BULLYING
IN THEIR INSTITUTIONS

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines

in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “Anti-Bullying Act of
2013”.

SEC. 2. Acts of Bullying. – For purposes of this Act, “bullying” shall refer 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 the other 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:

a. 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;

b. Any act that causes damage to a victim’s psyche and/or emotional well-
being;
c. 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; and

d. Cyber-bullying or any bullying done through the use of technology or any

electronic means.

SEC. 3. Adoption of Anti-Bullying Policies. – All elementary and secondary

schools are hereby directed to adopt policies to address the existence of
bullying in their respective institutions. Such policies shall be regularly
updated and, at a minimum, shall include provisions which:

(a) Prohibit the following acts:

(1) Bullying on school grounds; property immediately adjacent to school

grounds; at school-sponsored or school-related activities, functions or
programs whether on or off school grounds; at school bus stops; on school
buses or other vehicles owned, leased or used by a school; or through the
use of technology or an electronic device owned, leased or used by a school;

(2) Bullying at a location, activity, function or program that is not school-

related and through the use of technology or an electronic device that is not
owned, leased or used by a school if the act or acts in question create a
hostile environment at school for the victim, infringe on the rights of the
victim at school, or materially and substantially disrupt the education
process or the orderly operation of a school; and

(3) Retaliation against a person who reports bullying, who provides

information during an investigation of bullying, or who is a witness to or has
reliable information about bullying;

(b) Identify the range of disciplinary administrative actions that may be taken
against a perpetrator for bullying or retaliation which shall be commensurate
with the nature and gravity of the offense: Provided, That, in addition to the
disciplinary sanctions imposed upon a perpetrator of bullying or retaliation,
he/she shall also be required to undergo a rehabilitation program which shall
be administered by the institution concerned. The parents of the said
perpetrator shall be encouraged by the said institution to join the
rehabilitation program;

(c) Establish clear procedures and strategies for:

(1) Reporting acts of bullying or retaliation;

(2) Responding promptly to and investigating reports of bullying or
retaliation;

(3) Restoring a sense of safety for a victim and assessing the student’s need
for protection;

(4) Protecting from bullying or retaliation of a person who reports acts of

bullying, provides information during an investigation of bullying, or is
witness to or has reliable information about an act of bullying; and

(5) Providing counseling or referral to appropriate services for perpetrators,

victims and appropriate family members of said students;

(d) Enable students to anonymously report bullying or retaliation: Provided,

however, That no disciplinary administrative action shall be taken against a
perpetrator solely on the basis of an anonymous report;

(e) Subject a student who knowingly makes a false accusation of bullying to

disciplinary administrative action;

(f) Educate students on the dynamics of bullying, the anti-bullying policies of

the school as well as the mechanisms of such school for the anonymous
reporting of acts of bullying or retaliation;

(g) Educate parents and guardians about the dynamics of bullying, the anti-
bullying policies of the school and how parents and guardians can provide
support and reinforce such policies at home; and

(h) Maintain a public record of relevant information and statistics on acts of

bullying or retaliation in school: Provided, That the names of students who
committed acts of bullying or retaliation shall be strictly confidential and only
made available to the school administration, teachers directly responsible for
the said students and parents or guardians of students who are or have been
victims of acts of bullying or retaliation.

All elementary and secondary schools shall provide students and their
parents or guardians a copy of the anti-bullying policies being adopted by
the school. Such policies shall likewise be included in the school’s student
and/or employee handbook and shall be conspicuously posted on the school
walls and website, if there is any.

The Department of Education (DepED) shall include in its training programs,

courses or activities which shall provide opportunities for school
administrators, teachers and other employees to develop their knowledge
and skills in preventing or responding to any bullying act.
SEC. 4. Mechanisms to Address Bullying. – The school principal or any person
who holds a comparable role shall be responsible for the implementation and
oversight of policies intended to address bullying.

Any member of the school administration, student, parent or volunteer shall

immediately report any instance of bullying or act of retaliation witnessed, or
that has come to one’s attention, to the school principal or school officer or
person so designated by the principal to handle such issues, or both. Upon
receipt of such a report, the school principal or the designated school officer
or person shall promptly investigate. If it is determined that bullying or
retaliation has occurred, the school principal or the designated school officer
or person shall:

(a) Notify the law enforcement agency if the school principal or designee
believes that criminal charges under the Revised Penal Code may be pursued
against the perpetrator;

(b) Take appropriate disciplinary administrative action;

(c) Notify the parents or guardians of the perpetrator; and

(d) Notify the parents or guardians of the victim regarding the action taken to
prevent any further acts of bullying or retaliation.

If an incident of bullying or retaliation involves students from more than one

school, the school first informed of the bullying or retaliation shall promptly
notify the appropriate administrator of the other school so that both may
take appropriate action.

SEC. 5. Reporting Requirement. – All schools shall inform their respective

schools division superintendents in writing about the anti-bullying policies
formulated within six (6) months from the effectivity of this Act. Such
notification shall likewise be an administrative requirement prior to the
operation of new schools.

Beginning with the school year after the effectivity of this Act, and every first
week of the start of the school year thereafter, schools shall submit a report
to their respective schools division superintendents all relevant information
and statistics on acts of bullying or retaliation. The schools division
superintendents shall compile these data and report the same to the
Secretary of the DepED who shall likewise formally transmit a comprehensive
report to the Committee on Basic Education of both the House of
Representatives and the Senate.

SEC. 6. Sanction for Noncompliance. – In the rules and regulations to be

implemented pursuant to this Act, the Secretary of the DepED shall prescribe
 the appropriate administrative sanctions on school administrators who shall
fail to comply with the requirements under this Act. In addition thereto,
erring private schools shall likewise suffer the penalty of suspension of their
permits to operate.

SEC. 7. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within ninety (90) days from
the effectivity of this Act, the DepED shall promulgate the necessary rules
and regulations to implement the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 8. Separability Clause. – If, for any reason, any provision of this Act is
declared to be unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions
hereof which are not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force or
effect.

SEC. 9. Repealing Clause. – All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or
parts thereof which are inconsistent with or contrary to the provisions of this
Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

SEC. 10. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,

(Sgd.) JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA (Sgd.) FELICIANO BELMONTE JR.

Acting Senate President Speaker of the House
of Representatives

This Act which originated in the House of Representatives was finally passed
by the House of Representatives and the Senate on June 5, 2013.

(Sgd.) EMMA LIRIO-REYES (Sgd.) MARILYN B. BARUA-YAP

Secretary of the Senate Secretary General
House of Representatives

Approved: SEP 12 2013

(Sgd.) BENIGNO S. AQUINO III

President of the Philippines
 Drug education
Effective drug education is important because young people are faced with many influences to use both
licit and illicit drugs. Education can play a counterbalancing role in shaping a normative culture of safety,
moderation, and informed decision making.

 The role of principals

What prinicpals should do, legal issues, welfare guidelines
 Drug education teaching materials
Resources to assist with drug related issues involving truancy and student retention

 Engaging parents in drug education

Resources for involving parents in their child's education

Background to drug education

The Department assists Victorian schools to develop ongoing, sustainable drug education policies and
programs based on a harm minimisation approach

A harm minimisation approach aims to reduce the adverse health, social and economic consequences of
drugs by minimising or limiting the harms and hazards of drug use for both the community and the
individual without necessarily eliminating use. It is recognised that teachers are best placed to provide
young people with the skills and knowledge to make sound choices and decisions and thus teachers must
be adequately trained.

Why we need school drug educationWhat effective school drug education looks likeHow schools
should incorporate drug education into their curriculumSupport for your school drug education program

Resources
Family support servicesDrug researchDrug education videosMore information

Drug education
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search
Drug education is the planned provision of information, resources, and skills relevant to living in a
world where psychoactive substances are widely available and commonly used for a variety of both
medical and non-medical purposes, some of which may lead to harms such as overdose, injury,
infectious disease (such as HIV or hepatitis C), or addiction.

Contents
 1Benefits

 2Drug education campaigns & programs

 3School-based drug education

 4Implementation

 5See also

 6References

 7External links

Benefits[edit]
Planning includes developing strategies for helping children and young people engage with relevant
drug-related issues during opportunistic and brief contacts with them as well as during more
structured sessions. Drug education enables children, youth and adults to develop the knowledge,
skills and attitudes to appreciate the benefits of living healthily (which may or may not include the
use of psychoactive substances), promote responsibility towards the use of drugs and relate these to
their own actions and those of others, both now and in their future lives. It also provides
opportunities for people to reflect on their own and others' attitudes to various psychoactive
substances, their use and the people who use them.

Drug education campaigns & programs[edit]

Drug education can be given in numerous forms, some more effective than others. Examples
include advertising and awareness raising campaigns such as the UK
Government’s FRANK campaign or the US "media campaign".[1] In addition there are school based
drug education programs like DARE or that currently being evaluated by the UK Blueprint
Programme.[2] In efforts to prevent problematic substance use, drug education may perpetuate myths
and stereotypes about psychoactive substances and people who use them. [3]
Drug education can also take less explicit forms; an example of this is the Positive Futures
Programme, funded by the UK government as part of its drug strategy. This programme
uses sport and the arts as catalysts to engage young people on their own turf, putting them in
contact with positive role models (coaches/trained youth workers). After building a trusting
relationship with a young person, these role models can gradually change attitudes towards drug
use and steer the young person back into education, training and employment. This approach
reaches young people who have dropped out of mainstream education. It also has additional
benefits for the community in reduced crime and anti-social behaviour.[4]

School-based drug education[edit]

School-based drug education began with the anti-alcohol "temperance education" programmes of
the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in the United States and Canada in the late 19th century.
[5]
In many respects, the WCTU's progressive education agenda set the template for much of what
has been done since in the name of drug education. [6]
Past research into drug education has indicated that to be effective it must involve engaging,
interactive learning strategies that stimulate higher-order thinking, promote learning and be
transferable to real life circumstances. Current challenges from this approach exist in adopting
evidence-based school drug education programmes. [7] Currently, in the majority of countries where
preventive drug education programs and courses exist, they are established and funded by the
Government. These education programs aim to educate adolescents about illicit drug use in an effort
to prevent illegal drug use while highlighting the dangers of problematic substance use.[8]
The Australian Government has implemented a range of drug education programs through
the National Drug Education Strategy (NDES) by providing schools with effective drug education
programmes. The program aims to manage drug related issues and incidents within schools . [9]
On 6 December 2015 the Australian Government Department of Health launched the Positive
Choices portal as part of its response to the findings from the National Ice Taskforce report. [10]
[11]
Positive Choices is an online portal that facilitates access to interactive evidence-based drug
education resources and prevention programs for school communities. Positive Choices builds on
existing drug education resources developed by researchers at the National Drug and Alcohol
Research Centre (NDARC) such as the Climate Schools programs that have been proven to reduce
alcohol and drug related harms and increase student well-being. [12][13][14]
The Australian Department of Health and Aging identified that analgesics (90%), alcohol (80-90%)
and tobacco (30-60%) were the most widely utilised substances among adolescents. In addition to
this, cannabis was another commonly used illicit substance that accounted for 33% usage among
adolescents aged 14–17 years.[15]
In addition to government funded programs, a number of not-for-profit organisations (such as Life
Education Australia also provide drug education programs to adolescents. These preventative
programs aim to deliver a progressive approach that will motivate and encourage young people to
make positive decisions in life. Emphasis within these programs is also placed in focusing on
deterring peer pressure as a means of empowering adolescents and promoting autonomy. This
approach reaches 750,000 primary and secondary students in Australia each year. [16]

Implementation[edit]
Recent studies have identified that a gap between the theory of education programmes and the
implementation exists.[7] This is regards to the collaborative learning approach and difficulties with
teachers adopting these interactive drug education programmes. The practical implications of these
findings are that professional training and support are required to increase the effectiveness of
teaching staff, and the uniform implementation of drug curriculum. [7] Additional drug education
research in the future should acknowledge the complexities of implementing these programmes in a
school environment. Furthermore, additional support for teachers, counselors, school administrators
and other education professionals should be integrated as a means of being realistic about what
constitutes effective drug education and maintaining a high quality standard. [17]