House panel forms TWG to merge bills protecting teachers from wrongful child abuse allegations

The House Committee on Basic Education and Culture on Monday, March 13, formed a technical working group (TWG) to consolidate House Bills (HBs) 346, 549, and 6940, which would provide protection for teachers from wrongful allegations of child abuse. The three bills—Institutionalizing support mechanisms for public school teachers and school personnel in matters of student discipline and mechanisms for classroom management and providing for their protection in cases related thereto—were filed by Reps. Marissa Magsino of OFW Party-list, France Castro of ACT Teachers Party-list, and Edwin Olivarez of Parañaque 1st District. “Unfortunately, when our teachers and school personnel exercise their duty to discipline our students within their scope of authority, they are subjected to complaints by the parents and ridiculed by the public,” Magsino, who authored HB 364, said in her speech during the hearing. Under Magsino’s proposed measure, in Section 12 — Protection to Teachers and School Personnel in Charges Related to Student Discipline and Classroom Management — the Department of Education (DepEd) shall extend to its teachers and other personnel “the necessary protection, including but not limited to legal assistance and representation” in all cases related to “student discipline and classroom management, including criminal and administrative charges of child abuse.” “The DepEd shall ensure that respondents, in all stages of the disciplinary proceedings, are amply represented by the accredited union, or registered union, where there is no existing accredited union, of teachers or non-teaching employees, as the case may be,” the bill added. The proposed measure would also task the DepEd to create a guideline on what can be considered child abuse, so schools can define the proper actions to protect teaching and non-teaching staff. The guidelines shall include rules and regulations that teaching and non-teaching staff must follow in their interactions with students, and on how to set discipline in classroom management. And while it is important to protect students from abuse, it is equally important to protect teachers from wrongful allegations, Castro said in her bill’s explanatory note. “While child protection is indispensable, but teacher protection is a must. To this end, this bill seeks to amend Republic Act No. 7610, commonly known as the Child Abuse Law, insofar as any act committed by a teacher or school staff pursuant to the disciplinary rules and procedure issued by the DepEd shall not be deemed as ‘child abuse’,” HB 549, which is authored by Castro and other Makabayan solons, stated in the explanatory note. Castro said that similar bills were already passed in the 16th and 17th Congress, but did not push through in the Senate because of lack of material time.