FORMER Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) Executive Director Alexander Ramos is pushing for the creation of a bullying and threat identification and escalation framework that would equip teachers to spot warning signs of student violence early, arguing that schools cannot keep waiting for tragedies before recognizing a problem.
‘We should not wait until bullying becomes violence before we recognize that there is a problem. Teach our teachers how to identify the levels, give them a clear escalation process and intervene while there is still an opportunity to prevent something worse from happening,’ said Ramos, who also serves as advisor for cybercrime investigation at Scam Watch Pilipinas.
His call came after a junior high school student shot and killed a fellow student at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University Junior High School campus in Zamboanga City on August 18 before taking his own life. Two others were injured in the attack, which authorities are still investigating.
Ramos cautioned against automatically attributing the incident to bullying while investigators are still establishing the circumstances and motive. He said, however, that the string of violent incidents in schools this year underscores the need for a system that helps teachers identify bullying, threats, intimidation and behavioral changes before they escalate.
Under his proposal, the framework would give teachers practical indicators and clear protocols for intervention rather than relying solely on students to formally report incidents.
It would distinguish ordinary disagreements from repeated bullying, identify patterns of intimidation and threatening behavior, and flag higher-risk situations involving threats of serious harm, references to weapons, self-harm or violent retaliation.
‘The problem is that bullying is often treated as either present or absent. Hindi ganoon kasimple [It’s not gthat simple]. We have to understand the degree. Is it teasing? Is it repeated humiliation? Is it social exclusion? Is there intimidation? Are there threats already? Is the child showing signs of retaliation or extreme distress? Teachers should know the difference,’ he said.
Ramos said bullying is often viewed too narrowly, with attention focused mainly on physical aggression, when schools should also be able to recognize repeated humiliation, social exclusion, cyberbullying and significant behavioral changes among students.
‘Teachers are with these students every day. They may be the first people outside the family who can see that something is changing. But we cannot expect them to act on warning signs if we have not given them the tools to understand what those signs mean,’ he said.
He added that teachers should know when an issue can be handled at the classroom level, when guidance counselors and parents should be involved, and when a case must be elevated to school administrators or authorities.
Physical security measures such as guards, bag inspections and weapons restrictions address only part of the problem, according to Ramos.
‘We have to stop the weapon from entering the school, but we also have to ask what happened before someone decided to bring that weapon in the first place,’ he said.
The Zamboanga shooting is the latest in a series of violent incidents involving students since classes opened this year. In July, the Senate was told that at least 15 cases of school-related violence and threats had been recorded over a three-week period beginning June 16, leaving at least three students dead and 32 others wounded.
The deadliest was the June 22 shooting at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, where two students aged 14 and 15 opened fire on schoolmates, killing three and injuring at least 20. Police said the suspects claimed during initial questioning that they had been bullied, although authorities continued to investigate the motive.
Days earlier, seven Grade 5 pupils at Bethel Academy in General Trias, Cavite were injured after allegedly being attacked by a Grade 8 student armed with a kitchen knife, while a separate stabbing at Cavite National High School left a senior high school student wounded. A Grade 8 student in Bacolod City was stabbed, allegedly by a Grade 7 student, outside Sum-ag National High School on June 29.
On July 1, a Grade 11 student at Cabaluay National High School in Zamboanga City stabbed and wounded two classmates whom he allegedly accused of bullying him. On July 31, a 13-year-old student was stabbed and killed by a 14-year-old classmate inside Las Piñas National High School following an argument that police said stemmed from P10 in unreturned change.