00:00 In the afternoon of February 20, 2024, students were being harassed outside a nearby school in Manila.
00:10 "About 200 meters from where I stand, that's where the students were harassing."
00:17 The students who were being harassed and were captured in the video, we will hide under the name "Jessa" for 13 years.
00:26 Based on the investigation of the Barangay Council for Protection of Children or BCPC of their area.
00:33 The beating and the avoidance of Jessa from the group became a chance for them to fight.
00:41 "Her story is that she did not join her friends who were being harassed."
00:51 The parents were immediately called to fight.
00:56 "My mother said, because they are both minors, she said, 'Go ahead, return my medical expenses to my child.'"
01:07 After a meeting in the barangay, the parents of the sick Jessa paid the fine for her treatment.
01:15 "They agreed to pay a fine of P1,000. That's why they signed here that they are now getting better."
01:23 A few days after the beating, Jessa was still able to enter the school but she was suddenly killed inside the bathroom.
01:31 "She entered and when she came out, she sat on one side."
01:36 She was immediately admitted to the hospital but after five days, Jessa returned to life.
01:45 The victim's body was found in the reporter's notebook.
01:49 We talked to her mother, Robeline.
01:52 She said that her child was not sick that could be the reason for her death.
01:58 She said that she did not see any other reason but the pain of the students of Jessa.
02:05 "You can see in the video, not only one person was injured. They were hit by a car, they were beaten."
02:14 When Jessa's death certificate came out, this is where Robeline's guilt grew stronger for the cause of her child's death.
02:22 Hemorrhage or blood clotting in the brain was the cause of her death.
02:27 "The problem is, if she bled during the time of accident, those four days were long.
02:36 If you have an injury in the brain, every minute counts."
02:41 "It's hard, ma'am. But I'm trying my best because I have two more children."
02:48 Jessa is the second of three siblings.
02:51 The child dreamed of becoming a teacher one day.
02:54 "She said she can help us because we are just poor.
02:59 But because of that, she was just taken by force. That's why she's sick."
03:05 Two days after Jessa's life was saved by the municipal social welfare and development office, or MSWDO in their area,
03:16 we interviewed Almira. Her name is not her real name.
03:22 She is the woman in blue clothes who was hit in the video while Jessa was injured.
03:27 "We were just worried. When we went there, an old man came out and he chased us.
03:34 He said, 'Oh, you should chase him.' He shouted, 'Wait for me.'
03:41 We were just about to talk to him. Then, he started shouting at us."
03:48 Almira feels a lot of regret because of Jessa's loss.
03:53 "We are so sorry for what she did."
03:56 We interviewed the principal of the school where the children who were injured by Jessa are studying.
04:06 They explained that because there was no chaos inside the school, they cannot punish the students.
04:14 "It happened outside the school campus. There was a formal punishment.
04:20 What they did outside will be a reflection of the school."
04:25 "It can be like that. But for us, it's education. The children are fighting.
04:31 We can say that. But they died. We don't know if they really died."
04:38 The principal added that one of their problems is the lack of a guidance counselor
04:44 who can guide and give advice to students who are having problems.
04:50 "You don't have a guidance counselor. You have a guidance teacher.
04:54 She cannot give counseling because she is not a counselor.
04:59 But she can give advice. She can monitor these children daily."
05:08 "Sit down."
05:10 For now, the students who are involved in the chaos while being monitored by MSWDO are not allowed to enter the school.
05:20 Because they are still minors, the injured students cannot be punished according to the law.
05:27 But they need to go under community service and counseling within six months.
05:33 "This is part of what we are doing to find out what happened.
05:38 If they have anger management, we can talk about it."
05:42 But for the minors, who can be the one to answer?
05:48 "For parents, if it is proven that they are negligent, they may be charged with civil liability.
05:58 Because it is in our family code, parents and other persons exercising parental authority
06:04 shall be severely liable for injuries and damages caused by the acts of the minors."
06:10 For Gessa's family, their son's arrest is unforgivable.
06:15 "It hurts me to lose my son, especially that he is a girl.
06:19 Because when my son studies, they will destroy many dreams in that way."
06:26 [Music]
06:31 The five-year-old student, Tintin, was found with bruises on her face and blood on her nose.
06:38 She is not her real name.
06:40 After she was hit by her classmate in Pasig City.
06:44 "Here in the nose, in the nose, this is the biggest wound.
06:49 Then here in the cheek, here, here, here, here in the eyes.
06:55 Then she has a bruise here, and then her nose.
06:58 And this one, there is a mark on the cheek."
07:02 Because of her mother's fierce anger, she did not complain to the school.
07:08 So she went straight to the barangay to complain to the parents of the child who was hurt.
07:14 "I cannot blame the teacher for what happened.
07:17 Of course, it is not only my son who was there.
07:20 For many children, no one can handle everything."
07:24 We went to the school where Tintin studies and the classmate who was hurt by her.
07:30 They admitted that they do not have enough capacity to focus each student in their studies.
07:37 "For many children, the teacher is alone.
07:40 We are also not enough in the classroom.
07:42 It is a factor that the population in a classroom is too large."
07:49 Because of the trauma that Tintin suffered, she did not go to school and she was temporarily modulated.
07:56 They also assure that the pain that happened to Tintin or any student in their school will not happen again.
08:04 "The parent of the child who was hurt told us that if possible,
08:11 the child who was bullied should be transferred to another section so that the child will not see him again.
08:16 So we gave it to them."
08:18 In the study of the Program for International Student Assessment or PISA,
08:23 one in three students experience bullying every week in the Philippines.
08:29 The Department of Education of DepEd said that it would be a big help if more guidance counselors were added
08:36 so that the students can be guided more.
08:38 But the problem is...
08:40 "We have over 46,000 schools and there is a limited number of guidance counselors available
08:46 primarily because the current salary of guidance counselors is insufficient to attract them.
08:54 That's why in terms of intervening, the Department of Education has begun exploring
08:59 and adding the base of those that can respond."
09:03 On March 10, Jessa was buried.
09:07 "I hope she will not worry. We will do our best to give her justice for what happened to her."
09:13 The second stop is to consider the lessons.
09:17 But in the cases here or around here where violence is happening,
09:22 measures should be taken so that no student will be hurt
09:28 or the most vulnerable will lose their life.
09:31 I am Jun Veneracion and this is Reporters Nasa.
09:35 [Music]
09:57 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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