An Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) exploded in anger after she discovered through a viral video that her daughter was being bullied by her schoolmates.
Honey Ethel Arce Retuita, a Filipina worker based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, expressed her anger and extreme concern on the current condition of her daughter who has been video recorded while being ganged up by another group of female students.
In the video, it showed that the bully victim identified as Tasha Zuniga was slapped three times by her schoolmate, Zydnell Salvador.
Despite of being physically assaulted, the victim didn’t fought back to her bullies and she even got threatened that she’s going to be ganged up in the next day.
Because of her far distance, the only thing that Mrs. Retuita can do is to seek help to her fellow Filipino to spread the video and to join her protest to punish the bullies who hurt her daughter.
“Excuse me lang sa mga taong gustong ipatigil ang pagpapakalat ko ng pambubully sa anak ko. Kaunting hiya naman sa mga mukha nio! Bakit napigilan niyo din bang huwag saktan ang anak ko?” Honey Ethel Arce Rutuita said.
She also urged the management of the Sacred Heart College, Lucena, to took an immediate action about the bullying incident.
Mrs. Retuita promised that she would give justice to her daughter, despite of their distance.
“Huwag ka mag alala anak ko lahat ng ginawa nila sayo sisiguraduhin kong pagsisisihan nilan na sinaktan at ipinahiya ka! Tandaan mu anak hinding hindi kami titigil hanggat dmu nakukuha ang nararapat. Mahal na mahal ka ni mam.” she said.
After the video went viral, the bully victim and her family received tremendous amount of fame and support from the netizens who already watched the incident.
They even urged the Mrs. Retuita to pursue disciplinary actions against the bully.
As of writing, the management of the Sacred Heart College in Lucena is not yet releasing a statement on the bullying incident.
According to Republic Act No. 1067 also known as the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013, bullying was defined as:
a. Any unwanted physical contact between the bully and the victim like punching, pushing, shoving, kicking, slapping, tickling, headlocks, inflicting school pranks, teasing, fighting and the use of available objects as weapons;
b. Any act that causes damage to a victim’s psyche and/or emotional well-being;
c. Any slanderous statement or accusation that causes the victim undue emotional distress like directing foul language or profanity at the target, name-calling, tormenting and commenting negatively on victim’s looks, clothes and body; and
d. Cyber-bullying or any bullying done through the use of technology or any electronic means.
The law also ordered all elementary and secondary schools to adopt the policies of the anti-bullying act.
If the school was proven of not following the anti-bullying policies, they should face a penalty that may led to the closure of the school.
You can watch the video here:
