AN ACT REQUIRING ALL ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS TO ADOPT POLICIES TO PREVENT AND ADDRESS THE ACTS OF BULLYING IN THEIR INSTITUTIONS

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".

Section 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:

Section 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:

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.

Section 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:

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.

Section 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.

Section 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.

Section 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.

Section 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.

Section 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.

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

Approved,

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

Approved: SEP 12 2013

(Sgd.) BENIGNO S. AQUINO III
President of the Philippines