A proposal was made at the recent Senate hearing to set aside a specific amount of money for the installation of CCTVs in public schools in an effort to stop bullying.
The suggestion was made by Sherwin Gatchalian, the head of the Senate Basic Education Committee, who oversaw the panel's inquiry into the recent bullying incidents at a number of Philippine high schools.
Fight against bullying
The initiative would strengthen the battle against bullying in schools, according to Gatchalian.
“I think that would be a good preventive measure. Alam naman natin, tayo mismo, kung alam natin na may CCTV nag-iisip tayong maraming beses bago gumawa ng hindi maganda. So para maproteksyunan ang mga eskwelahan natin at yung mga estudyante at teachers natin, it’s about time na maglagay tayo ng separate budget for CCTVs,” he said.
“Maybe it’s about time to already allocate a separate budget for CCTV and I will move for the 2026 budget which will include a separate item for CCTVs in schools.”
He also voiced alarm about the increasing intensity of bullying in schools, pointing out that it has become more aggressive in recent months.
“The victims were not only bullied, but their videos were even uploaded [on the internet] to shame them,” he said.
Schools’ preventive measures
According to Principal Leonisa Romano, Moonwalk National High School, one of the secondary education institutions invited by the Senate panel because of a recent stabbing incident involving its students, was able to install CCTVs in their classrooms to discourage more incidents on the school premises.
There have been bullying occurrences highlighted in recent months, the most recent of which featured female learners taking turns pulling the hair of a classmate in a public school in Quezon City.
