The Department of Education
(DepEd) said on Friday, 22 November, it is now coordinating with concerned
offices regarding a public school teacher accused of child abuse and who was
featured on a television program, Raffy Tulfo in Action
DepEd Undersecretary and
Spokesperson Annalyn Sevilla told the Manila Bulletin that the legal team of
the agency’s Central Office is still coordinating with the regional and
division offices concerned, particularly the National Capital Region (NCR) and
in Manila.
“We will wait for their validated
status report first”, she added.
Meanwhile, lawyer and education
advocate Atty. Joseph Noel Estrada appealed to the public to hear the teacher.
“The public school teacher
deserves the right to be heard”, he said.
Estrada offered to help the
55-year-old Melita Limjuco, who was featured on broadcaster Raffy Tulfo’s
television show after a student’s relatives complained of alleged child abuse
on her part.
“I do not see any abuse done by
the teacher”, he said.
Earlier, the grandmother of the
child sought Tulfo’s help to file a case against Limjuco to teach her a lesson.
The disciplinary action imposed
by the teacher is the necessary consequence of the child’s misconduct, Estrada
added.
This was after the teacher was
seen on CCTV footage sending a boy out of a classroom.
The child’s family claimed the
boy was traumatized and humiliated because of the teacher’s action.
Estrada told the Manila Bulletin
that he met with Limjuco on Friday to assess her situation and possibly provide
legal assistance.
“We only saw the video but what
we don’t know is that the child was sent out of the classroom because he was
fighting with other classmates”, he explained in Filipino.
“Aside from the issue of the
report card that was repeatedly forgotten by the child, there was a previous
incident where the card was splashed with water and that must have been the
reason why the teacher was concerned about it”, Estrada added.
During the show, the staff called
Limjuco for her reaction to the case.
The teacher admitted her mistake and
apologized, but the child’s family wanted her punished through revocation of
her license so she could rest from teaching.
Tulfo then asked the teacher to
choose between facing a child abuse case which is a criminal case or resigning
from her job.
Furthermore, Estrada claimed that
Limjuco was not aware that her conversation with the host was live on TV.
“It’s unfair for her and this is
violative of her right to due process”, the lawyer said.
After meeting with Limjuco,
Estrada said that they will face the complaint and possible charges in a proper
forum.
Moreover, Estrada appealed to the
public not to drag out the issue further.
“Limjuco’s children who work as
overseas foreign workers (OFWs) and when they learned of this, they were very
worried”, he said in Filipino.
Estrada also said that the CCTV
recording should not have been shared with the public without the consent of
those who are captured in the clip.
“It’s not only the teacher was
there, other children who are minors and parents were also captured in the
video”, he explained.
“I also encourage everyone to
make sure the personal details and photos or videos of minors involved are not
shared or divulged”, he added.
Based on their initial meeting,
Estrada said there were other issues related to the incident.
The grandmother and parents
already talked with the principal and the teacher already apologized but they
still want her to resign from teaching by revoking her license, he said.
In addition, Estrada said Limjuco
has been a public school teacher for 29 years.
She does not deserve this public
humiliation and ridicule or to lose her job and license to teach our teachers
are special parents of the students while they are under their supervision,
instruction, or custody and as a special parent, the teacher’s authority
includes the duty to discipline the students.
Estrada also reminded parents
that their duties as parents include coordinating and cooperating with the
school in implementing school discipline.
Source: Manila Bulletin
