DAVAO CITY – Lauren grew up to be shy, but she’s not certain whether it is nurture or nature that shaped her personality. One thing she knows is that she has been the favorite prey of bullies in her early elementary school years.

“Girls made fun of me for spending my lunch hours reading in the library. They said I had a crush on this other girl and humiliated me about it every chance they got,” she once wrote in her blog.

The worse part, she said, is that she was ignored by her guidance counselors and teachers. They simply said that bullying is an early life lesson where “the world can be a terrible place filled with people who will treat you with undeserved cruelty.”

Lauren is just one of many students who have experienced being put-down, embarrassed, physically hurt or terrorized in school on a regular basis.

Psychologist Marylendra A. Penetrante, director of Legazpi Citybased Children and Youth Wellness Technical and Advocacy Center (CYWTAC), the lone organization that advocates for safe schools through its anti-bullying program, said bullying can make a student feel unwanted and rejected.

“It is compulsory for schools to have measures in place to encourage good behavior and respect for others and to prevent all forms of bullying,” Penetrante told the Manila Bulletin Thursday.

Susana Teresa B. Estigoy, Department of Education (DepEd) XI regional director, said bullying has been identified as a growing problem as their agency received complaints that older students bully the younger ones in an attempt to extort their snacks, money or food.

Bullying has been part of the Filipino culture but has to be examined well whether it should be tolerated or not.

Penetrante, also author of the book “Fight the Bully Battle (A Guidebook in establishing Anti-Bullying Program in Schools),” said a bully who learns to use hostility may find the unconstructive behavior pleasurable and a hard habit to break – and would eventually turn them into perpetrators of child abuse, domestic violence and other criminal activities in the future.

But victims remain victims as “long-consequences of repeated victimization may result to low selfesteem, increased anxiety, depression and even suicidal behavior.”