The Department of Justice (DOJ) will require local prosecution offices and its assistance center to receive complaints related to bullying, giving victims and their families an alternative avenue for help beyond schools.
DOJ Undersecretary Ian Norman Dato said Thursday that the department will issue an order next week directing local prosecution offices and the Department of Justice Assistance Center (DOJAC) to accept bullying complaints as schools reopen.
“Schools are reopening, so the plan of the Department of Justice is to issue a department order tasking or mandating our local prosecution offices or the Department of Justice Action Center to receive complaints for bullying,” Dato said.
The offices will assess complaints, mediate disputes when appropriate and refer cases to schools, which retain primary jurisdiction over bullying incidents.
Depending on the circumstances, schools may also refer cases to the Philippine National Police’s Women and Children Protection Desk or formally docket complaints.
Dato said the directive aims to give victims and their parents easier access to government assistance and ensure that they have options beyond seeking help only from schools.
“I just need to emphasize that this is a way for the victim and the parents to have access, that aside from the school, they have other agencies that will approach and investigate,” he said.
The DOJ said the initiative is part of its commitment to protect children under the Philippine Constitution and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
“The position of the DOJ is that anti-bullying is a commitment under the Constitution and international law, primarily the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,” Dato said.
“This is a serious commitment of the department, and this department order will be issued by next week.”
