THE Department of Education yesterday said the fact-finding report on the alleged sexual advances made by seven teachers on students of the Bacoor National High School’s Molino main campus in Cavite will be submitted today, Friday.
In a press briefing, DepEd spokesperson Michael Tan Poa said another teacher was added to the six who were earlier placed under investigation for allegedly “grooming” minors.
“The investigation on not only six but seven teachers identified through social media posts is continuing. By tomorrow, the fact-finding report will be submitted to the regional office and from then on, we will determine the administrative proceedings against the teachers,” Poa said.
Earlier, he said the teachers were put on “floating status” and were not given teaching loads while the probe is underway.
A Twitter user who uses the handle @eexpresso shared the alleged sexual advances made by the teachers on the students.
The thread was originally posted on Facebook but was deleted for allegedly violating community standards.
On the Twitter thread, one of the teachers even posted photos students on his social media accounts while making sexual innuendos.
Poa appealed on those who have experienced sexual advances or abuse at the hands of the teachers to come out and file complaints.
“The problem is there are complainants who do not file their affidavits, that’s why through this we encourage them to come out to strengthen the proceedings against the teachers,” Poa said. “We hope that you can help us encourage the alleged victims to come forward and file their affidavits so they can strengthen the case.”
Poa said if the teachers are found guilty, the “most severe punishment” is dismissal from the service. He added this does not preclude the lodging of criminal cases against the teachers by the victims.
“Kami kasi sa DepEd ay more on the administrative side,” he explained.
Poa said Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte has met with the department’s Child Protection Unit to enhance programs meant to deter such kinds of problems in the classroom and ensure the safety and protection of students.
“The Vice President already had a meeting with the DepEd Child Protection Unit. There were major directions given to the unit to strengthen their programs at the division office and regional office level,” he said.
The scandal at the Bacoor high school follows controversies hounding other schools in the country whose teachers faced similar accusations of “grooming” their students or sexual harassment.
Last July, allegations of emotional, verbal and sexual abuse in the Philippine High School for the Arts in Los Banos, Laguna prompted Duterte to request the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct an investigation.
