Can Filipinos truly learn their own lesson? 

Lirhain Hondolero

Oftentimes and unknowingly, Filipinos tend to watch series that reflect current societal issues and the realities they live in, and for now, it means the justice being served in a Korean drama titled “Teach You A Lesson.”

“Teach You A Lesson” first aired on June 5 this year on Netflix, composed of ten episodes. It is about a group of people called the “Educational Rights Bureau” that becomes the series’ stewards of justice for the issues that take place in educational institutions. 

First known as a webtoon series with the title of ‘Get Schooled,’ it already gained publicity as readers commented on its satisfying resolutions for the perpetrators of problems that threaten order in schools.

The reason for the fascination among Filipino watchers is obvious: the justice it brings in the story, but there is a deeper level to it. 

Prevalence of Incidents 

The series focuses on the victims and why these incidents happen. This is synonymous with how several researchers delved into the cases of discrimination and harassment in schools all over the Philippines. There are not just students as the victims, but teachers as well. 

In repeated assessments, there is substantial evidence that such incidents are prevalent in the Philippines. In 2018, the country had the highest percentage among the participants of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), giving the country the first rank in bullying among over 70 participants. In 2022, it was similar, but the percentage became lower. 

In 2019, these percentages were: 

• 65% of the students experienced it at least a few times a month
• 40% of the students reported that they experienced it more frequently, at least once a week or more. 

There are other factors in these as well. Most of the perpetrators are students, teachers, or people in relative power, and even family members of the victims. 

These are just according to the physical or face-to-face incidents. As time passes by, so does the evolution of technology and the forms of such problems that affect the youth and the people who surround them. 

Bullying is a multifaceted issue that the world faces, but here in the Philippines, it all stems back to it being normalized at a young age. The following are the common causes:

• Family dynamics or the environment a person has in their household
• Physical appearances 
• Peer pressure 
• The bystander effect 

The impact on the victims can vary, but it is estimated that back in 2023, there were 17.5 million Filipino students alone who were suffering because of bullying. It could manifest physically, emotionally, and even mentally. As they grow up, they could still be affected by the bullying that happened in their youth.

However, despite the alarming rate of students being affected by this issue, another problem that the series solves in its story pulls the Filipino watchers in: it is by how quickly justice is served. 

Justice is slow 

For most of the victims within the series, they think that the law will help them because it was enacted to protect them; after all, across different tenures of Department of Education (DepEd) secretaries, they acknowledged it as a problem. 

There are existing laws such as:

• Anti-Bullying Act of 2013
• Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995
• Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012
• And many more city-specific ordinances. 

However, all they find is the stagnation of everything. 

This is seen in the series as well, by how the victims tend to accept the atrocities they face because of fears such as: what’s the use of defying? There wouldn’t be much of a change anyway.

Here in the Philippines, the process of such cases is grueling. 

In schools, it is supposed to take a day or two, as swiftly as possible, to protect the victim. But once it is processed with a punishment, it feels like a slap on the wrist for the oppressor. In workplaces, it takes weeks to even process a report, allowing the people involved to continue the harassment or even learn who reported them, and endangering the person. 

Contrary to what is happening in the country, in “Teach You A Lesson,” one report is all it takes for justice to be on its way. A justice that is fit for the crime, which makes Filipinos enjoy such films. Filipinos wish for this type of swift and effective justice. 

For the watchers of this K-drama series, it is not just a form of fiction but a mirror. A reflection of the true problem that is still present in countries, not just in South Korea, but in the Philippines as well. It aims for the awareness of the people in power, and the common people who might have been a victim or a perpetrator themselves. 

Until then, the Filipino viewers could only hope for change before the Educational Rights Bureau became a true group to enact the justice the victims in this country truly deserve.