MANILA, Philippines – Netizens are taking to social media to demand accountability from Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) over the video of a bullying incident that went viral on Thursday, December 20.
On Friday, December 21, the hashtag #NeverTolerateBullying trended on Twitter as netizens called on the academic institution to act swiftly and decisively over the serious incidents of bullying which Ateneo de Manila Junior High School (AJHS) initially described as a “fighting video.”
"The Ateneo Junior High School is dealing with this matter seriously beginning with an immediate investigation that ensued the moment the report reached us," AJHS said in a statement.
Netizens, however, criticized the way AJHS downplayed the bullying by calling it a mere fighting incident.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wow. So apparently, ateneo is downplaying the incident as a video of children "fighting" not bullying. OMG<br>✔️imbalance of power<br>✔️intentional harm inflicted<br>✔️repetitive</p>— Agatha Dizon (@AgotNotIsidro) <a href="https://twitter.com/AgotNotIsidro/status/1075815637040037888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2018</a></blockquote>
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'End cycle of bullying'
In a separate statement, ADMU president Fr Jose Ramon Villarin SJ gave his assurance that the school is "treating the matter with the highest priority and urgency."
"Let me be very clear: the school does not condone such behavior. We have our codified standards of conduct and all students are made aware of these and their rights and responsibilities," Villarin said.
He also appealed to everyone to be "mindful of consequences spiraling out of control when specific videos and comments are shared on social media."
Online, some netizens are also calling out others who have resorted to bullying the AJHS student who was identified in the video. (READ: These Filipino high school kids are out to end bullying)
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Again, how does bullying the bully end the cycle of bullying?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NeverTolerateBullying?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NeverTolerateBullying</a></p>— Camillo (@yogon) <a href="https://twitter.com/yogon/status/1075909028285272064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">1st, never tolerate bullying. Second, if u are fighting for what is right, do it correctly. Cursing the bully doesn’t mean you are protecting the victims. You are also bullying by giving unnecessary comments on social media. Cyber bullying is also a crime.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NeverTolerateBullying?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NeverTolerateBullying</a></p>— ✈️ (@itsmwflyyyeerr) <a href="https://twitter.com/itsmwflyyyeerr/status/1075915899276652544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Check out the #NeverTolerateBullying online conversation below:
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<a class="twitter-timeline" data-partner="tweetdeck" href="https://twitter.com/MovePH/timelines/1075904419080724480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">Ateneo bullying - Curated tweets by MovePH</a> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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What are your thoughts on this issue? How do you think should the academic institution address this bullying incident? – Rappler.com