FR. SHAY CULLEN
THE Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) must change and grow as it will, hopefully under Secretary Sara Z. Duterte, to create that secure, safe, positive and inspirational environment essential for every student to learn, develop and grow as a person.
Child sexual abuse is spreading in schools as pedophile teachers are emboldened by weak implementation of the child protection code in schools and officials are tolerating child sexual abuse by teachers.
An urgent task awaits Secretary Sara. It is the strict implementation of the child protection code. Some officials of the Department of Education do not strictly implement the code of conduct in protecting children from abuse.
The case of a public school teacher in Olongapo City National High School is a shocking example. He was convicted in the Regional Trial Court in 2019 for two separate cases of child sexual abuse of two students, one only 11 years old, and sentenced to jail for at least eight years in each case.
The DepEd, which handled the separate administrative case against him, however only gave him a mere six months suspension, an apparent failure to act in the best interest of children.
What is so shocking is that he is still teaching today despite the fact that his appeal of one of his criminal convictions has been denied and the conviction against him upheld in 2022 by the Court of Appeals. His sentence has been increased from eight years to a minimum of 12 to 17 years in prison. The total fines he has to pay the victim was increased from a total of P30,000 to P120,000s.
He is convicted and yet continues teaching free as a bird. Is this a mockery of the judicial system? Why does he have such impunity when others don’t?
The DepEd Rules of Procedures in Administrative Cases known as DepEd Order No 49, Series of 2006, must be changed. It says that an accused teacher could even be promoted despite pending trials or decisions against him or her. Secretary Sara must do something about this.
In another more recent case, a judge of the Family Court in Olongapo City ordered the arrest of a public elementary school teacher accused of child sex abuse of three Grade 3 children aged nine years old in Sto. Tomas, Subic, Zambales. He was recently arrested and detained. The Preda Foundation has also brought an administrative case against him in the DepEd.
Will the DepEd suspend him indefinitely or allow him back into teaching among vulnerable children if and when he gets bail?
This is where Secretary Sara Duterte must step in to see that children are protected from pedophile teachers and justice is done. Parents will fear sending their children to school where they are vulnerable when they should be safe and secure.
There is a great challenge to change and develop the Philippine educational system. Students and teachers need this change to achieve personality growth through progressive, participative, self-thinking education.
The retraining of teachers to be people that are positive, reinforcing, inspiring, knowledgeable and caring classroom personalities is essential. They must value the child and understand the pressures and threats of abuse that children are under in their home and through social media and be there to listen and understand and support them. (To be continued)/PN
