Netizens can’t be blamed for showing rage over bullying incident

Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said he understood why netizens were enraged with the junior high school student who was caught on video bullying his schoolmates in Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU).

Andanar issued the comment as ADMU conducted its own investigation on at least three videos showing the same male student bullying his schoolmates.

In a radio interview, the PCOO head said he understood why netizens had nothing but harsh words against the bully because as a parent himself, he could not stand the sight of any of his children getting hurt.

"Hindi mo rin ma-blame iyong nagsacyber-bullying kasi siyempre dehado iyong sinapak doon sa eskuwelahan ‘di ba, tapos nagdugo iyong mukha (You really cannot blame those involved in the cyber-bullying because the other kid bled and was at a disadvantage)," Andanar said.

"Ngayon kung ako kasi iyong magulang makita mo na iyong bata na sinapak tapos duguan ang ilong ba iyon o bibig? Masakit iyon eh, masakit sa magulang iyon na iyon ay ginawa sa anak mo (Now if I was the father and I saw that the child was punched and then he bled out? That is painful for a parent if that happens to your kid)," he added.

"Eh inaalagaan mo iyong anak mo tapos sabay sasapakin lang tapos dudugo iyong ilong ‘di ba? So hindi naman — masakit iyon para sa magulang (You take care of your child and then they will just get punched to the point that they will bleed–that pains a parent)," he continued.

However, Andanar acknowledged that there was no difference between cyberbullies and the actual bully who was seen in the viral videos. He said ADMU should act on the incident immediately.