An alarming rise in bullying-related violence has gripped schools across the country.
During a Senate hearing earlier this month, Department of Education (DepEd) Assistant Secretary for Operations Dexter Galban said that 1,314 cases of campus violence have been recorded by the agency from November 24, 2022, to April 7, 2025.
Several of these incidents have turned fatal. On January 20, 2023, a 15-year-old student fatally stabbed his 13-year-old classmate inside Culiat High School in Quezon City during class.
On March 26, 2025, a 14-year-old student from Moonwalk National High School in Parañaque was stabbed multiple times by her 14-year-old openly gay classmate, leading to her death.
Reports indicated the suspect had been mocked and pressured by the victim and her peers about his sexuality.
In April 2025, a video surfaced showing a Grade 8 student in Quezon City being dragged across the floor by classmates while others laughed. Days later, two Grade 8 students were fatally stabbed by three schoolmates outside Aguilar Integrated High School in Las Piñas. The attack, reportedly triggered by an earlier argument in a restroom, occurred roughly 100 meters from the campus.
These are only a few extreme cases. Countless others are reported to teachers and school administrators, many of which, victims say, are met with inattention or outright inaction, leaving students and parents alike feeling disgruntled and helpless.
Malacañang has condemned the recent incidents and vowed government action. According to Palace Press Officer Claire Castro, this followed Senator Sherwin Gatchalian’s remarks in the Senate raising concern over the trend.
Citing the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), 65% of Grade 10 students in the Philippines reported being bullied several times a month—the highest rate among all participating countries.
The Philippines has since been labeled the “bullying capital of the world.”
Castro added that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has directed government agencies to look into the cases and respond accordingly.
The Department of Education is also reviewing the expansion of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Anti-Bullying Act (RA 10627) and the Safe Spaces Act (RA 11313), noting that bullying today often begins with online harassment that escalates into peer violence.
