ANTI-BULLYING ACT OF 2013

Case Overview and Summary

Summary of the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013 (Republic Act No. 10627)

Definition of Bullying (Section 2):
- Severe or repeated use of written, verbal, electronic expression, physical act or gesture by one or more students against another student
- Causing physical or emotional harm, damage to property, hostile environment, infringing rights, or disrupting education process
- Includes unwanted physical contact, psychological abuse, slander, and cyber-bullying

Adoption of Anti-Bullying Policies (Section 3):
- All elementary and secondary schools must adopt policies to address bullying
- Policies must be regularly updated and include provisions:
• Prohibiting bullying on school grounds, activities, buses, or through technology (Section 3(a))
• Prohibiting retaliation against those who report bullying (Section 3(a)(3))
• Identifying disciplinary actions for perpetrators, including rehabilitation programs (Section 3(b))
• Establishing procedures for reporting, investigating, responding to bullying, protecting victims and reporters, and providing counseling (Section 3(c))
• Enabling anonymous reporting of bullying (Section 3(d))
• Disciplining false accusations of bullying (Section 3(e))
• Educating students and parents about bullying dynamics and policies (Sections 3(f) and 3(g))
• Maintaining public record of bullying statistics while protecting confidentiality (Section 3(h))
- Schools must provide copies of policies to students and parents (Section 3)
- DepEd must include bullying prevention training for school staff (Section 3)

Mechanisms to Address Bullying (Section 4):
- School principal is responsible for implementing anti-bullying policies
- Any member of school community must report bullying to principal or designee
- Upon report, principal or designee must investigate and take actions:
• Notify law enforcement if criminal charges may apply (Section 4(a))
• Take appropriate disciplinary action (Section 4(b))
• Notify parents of perpetrator and victim (Sections 4(c) and 4(d))
- Schools must notify each other if incident involves students from multiple schools (Section 4)

Reporting Requirement (Section 5):
- Schools must inform division superintendents about anti-bullying policies within 6 months of law's effectivity
- Schools must submit bullying statistics report to division superintendents in first week of each school year
- Division superintendents must compile data and report to DepEd Secretary
- DepEd Secretary must transmit comprehensive report to Congress committees

Sanction for Noncompliance (Section 6):
- DepEd Secretary shall prescribe administrative sanctions for non-compliant school administrators
- Erring private schools may have permits to operate suspended

Implementing Rules and Regulations (Section 7):
- DepEd must promulgate rules and regulations to implement the Act within 90 days of effectivity

Separability Clause (Section 8)

Repealing Clause (Section 9)

Effectivity (Section 10):
- Act takes effect 15 days after publication in at least two national newspapers of general circulation