Five out of the seven teachers in Bacoor National High School (BNHS) who were accused of sexual harassment are now facing formal charges, the Department of Education (DepEd) said.
In a joint presser of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education (DepEd) on Thursday, Sept. 8, Education Spokesperson Michael Poa confirmed that the five teachers are currently facing formal charges and they are also under a 90-day preventive suspension.
“Out of the seven teachers that were identified in post, nag-issue na tayo ng formal charge sa lima sa kanila ,” Poa explained.
This development, Poa said, comes after the completion of the fact-finding report or preliminary investigation led by the concerned Schools Division Office (SDO) last week.
Poa explained that DepEd is still gathering enough evidence to file charges against the two remaining teachers.
“Nung nakausap natin yung SDO and legal department, kulang ang ebidensya to identify yung dalawa pa out of the seven kaya five lang na na-issue ng formal charge (When we talked to the SDO and legal department, there was insufficient evidence to identify the other two out of the seven, so only five were formally charged),” he said.
During the preliminary investigation, Poa said that the identified teachers were issued a “show cause memo” or a notice for them to explain. “We gave them five days within which to reply and once completed, we issued a formal charge along with preventive suspension that is good for 90 days,” he explained.
Poa said that the formal charge issued against the five teachers was for Grave Misconduct, Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service, and Violation of DepEd Order No. 40, s. 2012 or the DepEd Child Protection Policy.
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