SPUS HOLDS SYMPOSIUM ON ANTI-BULLYING

SPUS HOLDS SYMPOSIUM ON ANTI-BULLYING

Aiming to raise the awareness on bullying inside the campus, the Guidance and Counseling Office of St. Paul University Surigao conducted an Awareness and Symposium on Bullying anchored on the theme, “Making a Noise on Bullying: Be a Buddy not a Bully,” attended by Paulinians from the Basic Education and College Departments on November 10, 2023 at the SPUS New Gymnasium.

As the first resource speaker of the program, Mr. Iryll Suarez Mahilum, PhD, gave the Paulinians key information on the background of bullying, its types, and how to identify it.

“Bullying is the use of force, threat, coercion to abuse, intimidate, or aggressively dominate others,” Mahilum stated as he further expanded on the topic of bullying.

Following Mr. Mahilum’s inital talk, PSMS Rosielyn Detablan Espenido, an officer of the Philippine National Police (PNP), introduced The Safe Spaces Act of RA 11313 and the degrees of its offense to the student audience.

Espenido stated that, “RA 11313 The Safe Spaces Act is an act of defining gender-based sexual harrassment in the streets, public spaces, online, workplaces, and educational or training institutions.”

Furthermore, PEMS Cheryl Quinto Saldo, also an officer of the PNP, then provided a continuation to Mr. Mahilum’s initial talk on bullying by giving a brief overview.

Saldo also introduced additional school-based laws for children protection and bullying, emphasizing how the school would react if said laws were violated.

Right after the resource speakers’ presentations, an open forum was conducted to address any concerns and issues relative to the topic.

The said symposium aimed to raise awareness on the many impacts of bullying not only in the schools but within the community.

Article by Kenji Carlota and Dessa Canda