CAGAYAN de Oro City Councilor Desiree Ann Dahino once again reiterated the passage of an expanded bullying ordinance in light of what happened recently in Tacloban City.
Standing before her colleagues during their weekly session June 29, Dahino said her proposed measure is now pending study at the City Legal Office.
Dahino – the chair of the committee on family relations – believes that the current bullying ordinance which was passed in 2013 is already outdated.
She said that at the time the legislation was passed, social media was still in its infancy and bullying among youth and children persisted more at the physical level.
In her proposed ordinance, all forms of online bullying are now included with their corresponding interventions.
Along this line, Dahino is batting for the employment of at least one mental health professional in every public school in the city.
She said private school students are lucky enough because they have their own guidance counselor, someone that public school systems in the city lack.
In the meantime, Dahino is calling for a strengthened collaboration between schools, parents and the barangay to enact a comprehensive policy on mental health intervention for their respective students.
“Creating a safer community is a shared responsibility. It begins at home, is reinforced in our schools, and is strengthened through responsive governance,” Dahino said.
She noted that in other countries such as South Korea, persons proven to commit bullying will undergo registration as an offender which will reflect in their own personal public documents.
Dahino is looking forward for a speedy review of her proposed ordinance by the City Legal Office.
