Barely a month after an Ateneo Junior High School bullying incident went viral on social media, the student and his mother issued a public apology.
Still from a video of an Ateneo high school student bullying a classmate. Image: Screengrab from Facebook, INQUIRER.net file photo
“I would like to apologize for the action of my son. Sa nasaktan niya, sa school kung na-drag man ang school sa isyu na ‘to, I apologize,” said the student’s mother in an interview with newscaster Arnold Clavio yesterday on news show “24 Oras.” “Pero gusto ko ring hingin yung understanding ng tao na bata ‘tong anak ko eh.”
(I would like to apologize for the action of my son. To those whom he hurt, to [Ateneo] if they have been dragged in this issue, I apologize. But I also want to ask for people’s understanding because my son is still a child.)
Meanwhile, the student, who is now undergoing counseling, asserted he was only defending himself from the other student who challenged him to a fight before the video was taken: “I was just defending myself, hindi naman ako nambu-bully (I don’t bully) for no reason eh.”
“Hindi enough na salita kasi yung malungkot, yung devastated, kulang yun eh to describe how we felt,” the mother said explaining what she felt after learning her son was dismissed from the institution. “Kasi nga parang pangarap ng mga magulang sa anak, yun yung pinutol nila sa amin.”
(Sad, devastated are not enough words to describe how we felt. Because our dreams as parents for our son was what they denied.)
However, some celebrities expressed their disappointment with what they perceived as a lack of sincerity in the mother and son’s apology.
“Sana, mommy, anak… sana nag-apologize na lang kayo at nangakong hindi na ito mauulit kesa sabihin ni bully-lit na dinepensahan lang niya ang sarili niya,” comedian Ogie Diaz wrote on Facebook yesterday, sharing a video of the interview.
Image: Screengrab from Facebook/Ogie Diaz
(I wish you [mother and child] just apologized and promised that the incident will not be repeated instead of the student saying he only defended himself.)
He stated that the mother and son should not be mad at netizens for judging them — after all, not only one, but three videos of separate bullying incidents made the rounds on social media.
“Sa ina naman, ayaw kitang sisihin, pero sana noon pa, na-guide nyo na nang tama ang anak nyo,” Diaz added. “Kahit kapiraso lang siguro ng guidance nyo, pwedeng maramdaman ng mga tao sa video, pero ako, wala akong na-feel, teh.”
(To the mother, I don’t want to blame you, but you should have guided your son. I was not able to feel even a bit of your guidance during the interview.)
Celebrities took to the comments section of Diaz’s post to share their sentiments on the matter. Actress Ynez Veneracion said she felt a lack of sincerity on the part of the mother’s apology.
Image: Screengrab from Facebook/Ogie Diaz
“Hindi ko naramdaman ang sincerity ng pag-aapologize ng nanay,” she said. “Medyo mayabang pa ang tono.”
(I did not feel the sincerity of the mother’s apology. Her tone is also arrogant.)
She also took a jab at the mother’s failure to instill discipline in her son: “Kung maganda ang pagpapalaki nyo dyan hindi yan magiging ganyan! Kitang kita na hindi nyo na-disiplina ng maayos ang anak nyo! ”
(If your son’s upbringing was good, he would not be like that! It is evident that you did not discipline your child!)
“‘Pinoy Big Brother” alum Fourth Pagotan likewise disapproved of the attitude shown by the mother of the student. “Yung ina kunsintidor ang dating… halatang may attitude din (The mother comes off as an enabler… it’s obvious she has an attitude as well).”
Image: Screengrab from Facebook/Ogie Diaz
Writer and director Joey Javier Reyes summarized his opinion on the apology in one sentence.
Image: Screengrab from Facebook/Ogie Diaz
“The failure to see the mistake says it all.” NVG
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