Quick answer

Yes—but with an important limitation. The Philippines has an Anti-Bullying Act, Republic Act No. 10627, but it expressly requires anti-bullying policies only in elementary and secondary schools. It does not generally extend to students enrolled in college, university, graduate school, or other tertiary programs.

That does not mean bullying in college is lawful or that a college has no responsibility to respond. The conduct may still violate:

The college’s student handbook, code of conduct, grievance rules, or enrollment contract;
The Safe Spaces Act when the behavior is gender-based or sexual, including certain online conduct;
The Anti-Sexual Harassment Act when a person with authority, influence, or moral ascendancy demands or requires a sexual favor;
The Anti-Hazing Act when abuse is connected with recruitment, initiation, or continued membership in an organization;
The Revised Penal Code or another criminal law when the acts involve threats, physical injuries, coercion, defamation, harassment, sexual violence, property damage, or similar offenses; or
Civil-law protections against acts that unlawfully injure another person’s rights, dignity, privacy, or peace of mind.

The correct remedy therefore depends on what happened, who committed it, where it occurred, whether it was repeated, and what the school’s written rules provide.

Why the Anti-Bullying Act usually does not cover college students

Republic Act No. 10627, or the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013, directs “all elementary and secondary schools” to adopt policies preventing and addressing bullying. Its implementing rules cover public and private kindergarten, elementary, and secondary schools.

The law defines bullying for that setting as severe or repeated written, verbal, electronic, physical, or gestural conduct by one student against another that causes or reasonably threatens physical or emotional harm, creates a hostile school environment, infringes the student’s school rights, or materially disrupts education or school operations. It also expressly recognizes cyberbullying.

Because Congress limited the law to basic education, a college student generally cannot insist that the procedures in RA 10627 apply merely because the conduct would qualify as “bullying” in an elementary or secondary school.

Important exception: senior high school on a college campus

Coverage depends on the learner’s educational level, not simply the institution’s name or campus.

A Grade 11 or Grade 12 learner remains a secondary-school student even if the senior high school department is operated by a university or located on a college campus. RA 10627 and its implementing rules may therefore apply to bullying within that basic-education program.

Conversely, being below 18 does not automatically bring a student in a tertiary program within RA 10627. Age can affect criminal responsibility, safeguarding, confidentiality, and parental participation, but the Act’s institutional coverage is tied to elementary and secondary education.

What protects college students instead?

The college’s handbook and disciplinary rules

Colleges and universities commonly prohibit conduct such as harassment, intimidation, threats, violence, cyber misconduct, discrimination, stalking, humiliation, retaliation, and behavior prejudicial to good order—even if the rule is not labeled an “anti-bullying policy.”

The student handbook is usually the first document to check. Look for provisions on:

Student discipline and prohibited conduct;
Harassment, discrimination, and sexual misconduct;
Online or social-media behavior;
Fraternities, sororities, and student organizations;
Complaint, grievance, and appeal procedures;
Interim protective measures;
Confidentiality and retaliation; and
Jurisdiction over off-campus conduct.

The school must observe its governing rules and basic requirements of fairness. At the same time, an accused student is entitled to notice and an opportunity to answer the allegations. A complainant is not automatically entitled to a particular punishment, and the school should not disclose confidential disciplinary information beyond what its rules and applicable law allow.

The CHED Guidelines on Student Affairs and Services provide minimum standards for higher education institutions, but the institution’s current handbook and grievance procedures remain essential to determining the specific office, process, and possible sanctions in an individual case.

Gender-based or sexual bullying: the Safe Spaces Act

Republic Act No. 11313, or the Safe Spaces Act, applies to public and private educational and training institutions, including tertiary schools.

Depending on the facts, prohibited conduct may include:

Unwanted sexual remarks or advances;
Sexist, misogynistic, homophobic, or transphobic slurs;
Sexual jokes or comments that create an intimidating, hostile, or humiliating environment;
Cyberstalking or incessant unwanted messaging;
Sexual threats sent online;
Unauthorized sharing of sexual photos, audio, or video;
Online impersonation or harmful false posts in circumstances covered by the Act; and
Gender-based harassment between classmates or peers, not only conduct by a professor or superior.

Every school must designate an officer to receive complaints and publish grievance procedures for students and faculty. Its Committee on Decorum and Investigation, or CODI, must be impartial, observe due process, protect the complainant from retaliation, and preserve confidentiality to the greatest extent possible.

For a complaint falling under the educational-institution provisions, the law states that the CODI must investigate and decide within 10 days or less from receipt. The school must also act when it knows or reasonably should know of possible gender-based sexual harassment or sexual violence, even if the affected person does not request action.

This 10-day rule is specific to complaints covered by the Safe Spaces Act. It should not automatically be treated as the deadline for every ordinary student-discipline case.

Sexual demands by a professor or another person with authority

The Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 may apply when a professor, instructor, coach, trainer, administrator, or another person with authority, influence, or moral ascendancy demands, requests, or requires a sexual favor in an education or training environment.

Examples may include linking a sexual favor to:

A passing grade;
Honors or a scholarship;
A stipend, allowance, or benefit;
Continued access to training or supervision; or
An intimidating, hostile, or offensive educational environment.

The school must establish procedures and a committee to investigate sexual-harassment complaints. Administrative proceedings do not prevent a separate criminal case or civil action where legally available.

An action arising from a violation of RA 7877 prescribes in three years, so legal advice should be sought promptly rather than waiting for the school process to end.

The Safe Spaces Act is broader in several respects, including peer-to-peer and online gender-based sexual harassment. Which law applies—or whether both may be relevant—depends on the exact conduct and relationship between the people involved.

Hazing disguised as teasing, discipline, or tradition

The Anti-Hazing Act of 2018 expressly covers colleges, universities, fraternities, sororities, clubs, associations, and other organizations.

Hazing includes physical or psychological suffering, harm, or injury imposed as part of initiation or as a condition for admission or continued membership. It can include humiliation, degradation, abuse, endangerment, or requiring menial, silly, or foolish tasks. A victim’s supposed consent or waiver is not a valid defense.

All forms of hazing are prohibited. A lawful initiation rite must not constitute hazing and is subject to strict notice, monitoring, and other requirements. Abuse should not be dismissed merely because organizers call it “tradition,” “bonding,” or a joke.

Suspected hazing requires urgent reporting to law-enforcement authorities and the school. If anyone is injured, obtain medical attention immediately.

Threats, violence, defamation, and other possible offenses

There is no general criminal offense named “college bullying.” Authorities instead examine the specific acts and the elements of existing offenses.

Depending on the evidence, conduct described as bullying may potentially involve:

Physical injuries;
Grave or light threats;
Grave coercion;
Unjust vexation;
Oral defamation or libel;
Slander by deed;
Malicious mischief or other property offenses;
Stalking or gender-based harassment under the Safe Spaces Act;
Sexual assault or another sexual offense; or
Hazing.

For online conduct, the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 may become relevant when an offense recognized by the Revised Penal Code or a special law is committed through information and communications technology. Not every rude message, meme, criticism, or online disagreement is cybercrime. For example, a defamation complaint requires proof of the legal elements of libel; offensiveness alone is not enough.

Do not publicly accuse someone of a crime as a pressure tactic. Preserve the material and give it to the school, police, prosecutor, or lawyer through an appropriate channel.

Possible civil liability

Even when the conduct does not result in a criminal charge, it may support a civil claim in an appropriate case.

Articles 19, 20, and 21 of the Civil Code require people to act with justice, give everyone their due, and observe honesty and good faith. They may provide a basis for damages when a person willfully or negligently causes legally compensable injury, or deliberately causes loss or injury in a manner contrary to law, morals, good customs, or public policy.

Article 26 also protects aspects of dignity, privacy, family relations, and peace of mind. Liability is not automatic: the claimant must establish the applicable legal basis, the wrongful act, actual injury, and the required connection between them. The responsibility of a school, employee, parent, or other person is likewise fact-dependent.

What to do if you are being bullied in college

1. Prioritize immediate safety

Move to a safe place if there is a threat of violence. Contact campus security or the nearest police station when someone is attacking you, following you, threatening imminent harm, carrying a weapon, committing sexual violence, or preventing you from leaving.

Seek prompt medical care after any physical or sexual assault. Ask the medical provider to document injuries and symptoms. Avoid washing clothing, deleting messages, or altering possible evidence when a sexual or serious physical offense may have occurred.

2. Preserve evidence before blocking or reporting accounts

Save original material whenever safely possible:

Full screenshots showing the account name, date, time, and surrounding conversation;
Original messages, emails, voice notes, photographs, and videos;
URLs, post identifiers, group names, and profile links;
Names and contact details of witnesses;
CCTV locations and the approximate time of the incident;
Medical records, photographs of injuries, and receipts;
Damaged property and proof of its value;
Class absences, grade effects, counseling records, or other documented consequences; and
Copies of earlier complaints and every response from the school.

Keep an incident log stating what happened, when and where it happened, who was present, what was said or done, and how you responded. Write facts, not guesses.

Retain original files and make a backup. Cropped screenshots can omit useful context, while edited files may create authenticity disputes. Ask the school in writing to preserve relevant CCTV footage promptly because retention periods may be short.

3. Read the current student handbook

Identify the prohibited conduct, proper receiving office, required complaint format, deadline, confidentiality rule, appeal procedure, and available protective measures.

The appropriate office may be the student affairs office, dean, guidance or counseling office, discipline office, gender and development office, designated Safe Spaces officer, or CODI. Use the office named in the current policy whenever possible.

4. Submit a clear written complaint

A useful complaint should contain:

Your name, program, year level, and contact details;
The respondent’s name and relationship to the school, if known;
A chronological factual account;
Dates, locations, platforms, and witnesses;
The handbook provisions or laws that may be relevant;
A numbered list of attachments;
Any continuing danger or retaliation; and
The specific interim measures you need.

Reasonable requests may include no-contact directions, adjusted seating or group assignments, security assistance, preservation of records, protection against retaliation, or another arrangement that does not unfairly prejudge the case.

Ask for written acknowledgment, a case or reference number, the next procedural step, and the applicable timetable. Keep a stamped receiving copy or verifiable email record.

5. Escalate when the internal process fails

If the receiving office does not act, escalate in writing through the institution’s stated hierarchy—for example, to the dean, student affairs head, school president, designated Safe Spaces officer, or CODI.

For a higher-education regulatory concern, a student may contact the appropriate CHED regional office. Explain what the school was asked to do, attach the relevant policy and communications, and identify the specific failure. CHED involvement does not necessarily replace the institution’s disciplinary process or determine criminal liability.

For possible crimes, report to the police or consult the city or provincial prosecutor’s office. Gender-based online sexual harassment may be reported to the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group, while Safe Spaces Act complaints may also be brought to a PNP Women and Children’s Protection Desk as applicable.

A school complaint and a criminal complaint serve different purposes and may proceed separately. Do not assume that filing with one office automatically files the matter with every other authority.

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming RA 10627 covers every person studying on a campus. Its general coverage is elementary and secondary education.
Reporting only verbally. A dated written complaint creates a clearer record.
Sending only selected screenshots. Preserve the complete conversation and original files.
Waiting too long. Evidence may disappear, CCTV may be overwritten, and legal or handbook deadlines may expire.
Retaliating online. Threats, doxxing, defamatory posts, or sharing private material can create a separate case.
Treating every insult as a crime. School misconduct can exist even when the legal elements of a criminal offense are not established.
Accepting forced mediation in a serious case. Informal reconciliation may be inappropriate where there is violence, sexual misconduct, coercion, a serious power imbalance, or continuing danger.
Demanding immediate expulsion without an investigation. Protective measures may be urgent, but final discipline ordinarily requires due process.
Posting confidential case records publicly. This may harm the complainant, compromise the investigation, or violate another person’s rights.

When legal help is urgent

Consult a lawyer or seek immediate official assistance if:

There are threats of death, serious injury, abduction, or sexual violence;
Physical assault, stalking, extortion, blackmail, or hazing is involved;
Intimate images or sexual recordings have been shared or threatened;
The victim is a minor or otherwise particularly vulnerable;
A professor or administrator is using grades, scholarships, recommendations, or authority to demand sexual conduct;
The school refuses to protect someone from an ongoing danger or retaliation;
The school pressures the complainant to withdraw, sign a waiver, or accept an unexplained settlement;
A suspension, exclusion, or expulsion case is pending against the accused student;
Evidence may soon be deleted or CCTV overwritten; or
A filing or appeal deadline may be approaching.

The Public Attorney’s Office may assist qualified indigent clients, subject to its rules and evaluation. A private lawyer can assess criminal, civil, administrative, and school remedies based on the documents.

Frequently asked questions

Can a college voluntarily adopt an anti-bullying policy?

Yes. A college may prohibit bullying, harassment, intimidation, or cyber misconduct through its own rules even though RA 10627 does not generally require tertiary institutions to use that Act’s procedures. The policy cannot disregard applicable law or due process.

Does the Anti-Bullying Act apply if a college student is 17?

Not automatically. The Act’s coverage is based principally on elementary or secondary education, not age alone. Other child-protection, juvenile-justice, criminal, civil, and school rules may still be relevant.

Does it cover a Grade 12 student studying inside a university?

Generally, yes. Grade 12 is secondary education. The fact that the program operates on a university campus does not ordinarily convert it into tertiary education.

Is cyberbullying between college students illegal?

It may violate the student handbook and, depending on its content, another law. Possible examples include gender-based online sexual harassment, threats, unlawful sharing of sexual material, or cyber-enabled libel. There is no automatic criminal liability simply because behavior is called “cyberbullying.”

Can the school act against off-campus or online behavior?

Possibly. The answer depends on the school’s published rules, its connection to the institution or educational environment, and any applicable statute. The Safe Spaces Act expressly addresses certain online and education-related gender-based sexual harassment.

Can I complain anonymously?

Only if the school’s policy permits it. An anonymous report may prompt safety measures or fact-finding, but imposing discipline solely on an unverified anonymous accusation may raise due-process problems. A confidential complaint is different from an anonymous one: the school knows the complainant’s identity but limits disclosure.

Must I finish the school process before going to the police?

Not generally where the acts may constitute a crime. Immediate danger, assault, sexual violence, hazing, serious threats, or evidence destruction should be reported promptly. A school proceeding does not substitute for a criminal investigation.

Can the school punish the respondent immediately?

The school may be able to impose neutral interim safety measures while investigating. Final disciplinary sanctions ordinarily require compliance with the applicable handbook and due process. Under the Anti-Hazing Act, authorized school officials may impose administrative sanctions after the notice and hearing required by that law even before a criminal conviction.

What if the school says the incident was only a joke?

The label is not controlling. Investigators should consider the actual words or acts, context, repetition, power imbalance, resulting harm, connection to school, and the relevant handbook or statutory elements. Initiation abuse does not become lawful because it is called tradition or fun.

Official legal sources

This article provides general legal information, not legal advice or a prediction of any case’s outcome. Application of the law depends on the evidence, school rules, relationships of the parties, and current procedures. Primary legal and official sources were checked as of July 27, 2026.