Yasmien Kurdi (right) with her daughter Ayesha. Image: Nice Print Photography via Instagram/@yasmien_kurdi
The alleged bullying incident involving Yasmien Kurdi’s daughter Ayesha is shaping up to be a bitter legal battle as her school, identified as the exclusive Colegio San Agustin (CSA) in Makati brought in lawyers directing Kurdi to “cooperate” with the school in order to resolve the matter.
In an official statement on its Facebook page on Wednesday, December 18, CSA lawyers also told Kurdi to refrain from “blowing out” the issue in public and in making the identities of the other students known as they are still minors.
The school likewise denied that the alleged bullying ever took place, though this is not the first time that incidence of violence had marred the school’s name.
According to CSA, the incident was simply a “situation where students were discussing Christmas party decorations,” which had already been resolved last December 10.
“It is unfortunate that an incident among minor students have been blown out in the public. At the outset, there appears to be no bullying that happened on December 10, 2024, but rather a situation where students were discussing about Christmas party preparations,” the CSA statement read.
According to CSA, the school has immediately addressed the matter among the students and parents involved, and that it is handling the matter “with caution, circumspect, and confidentiality because the students involved are minor children.”
Colegio De San Agustin Makati denied claims that Yasmien Kurdi’s daughter Ayesha was bullied. Image: Facebook/Colegio De San Agustin
CSA then urged Kurdi to “cooperate” with its policies, in compliance with the orders of the Department of Education in dealing with minor students, with a warning that failure to do so might expose the students involved to “unintended consequences.”
“We also caution Mrs. Soldevilla to refrain from sharing information about the minor students as this tends to put them in a bad light, embarrassment, and even ridicule, not only in the CSA but in the eyes of the public,” it said.
Cry for attention?
CSA — whose graduates include celebrities such as Kris Aquino, her cousin Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski, Iya Villania and Luis Manzano — likewise pointed to Kurdi being a public personality, thus might be used to public attention, in airing the incident regarding her daughter.
“While we assume good faith in the public actions and statements of Mrs, Soldevilla (Kurdi), these may have unintended consequences on the students involved including her own daughter. We acknowledge that she is a public personality and perhaps used to public attention, but the other parties especially the minor students value their privacy and hence deserve respect too. CSA supports raising awareness on bullying, but also mindful that the drawing or seeking unnecessary public attention does not help at all in the formation and correction of students and in eventually resolving their conflicts,” it said.
The Makati-based institution also turned the tables on Kurdi, saying that in calling public attention to the matter, Ayesha’s alleged bullies might be subject to “undue branding”.
“The undue branding of bullying of these interactions might result in disruptions of student’s learning and growth. We therefore reiterate our respect for circumspection and trust that the school is handling the matter in proportion to the seriousness of the incident brought to its attention,” it said.
CSA disabled commenting on its Facebook post, but it already garnered close to 4,000 reactions and 252 shares as of posting.
Kurdi has yet to respond to the school’s statement, as of press time.
The actress earlier claimed Ayesha, her daughter with non-showbiz husband Rey Soldevilla, was allegedly subjected to bullying by her classmates for years, which supposedly came to a head when they recently “ganged up” on her. She claimed Ayesha was even on the receiving end of an “online hate group.”
She further bared that she will be speaking with DepEd Secretary Sonny Anger to discuss possible solutions to bullying.