00:00 I'm Ezra Araya, reporting on the hottest issues and the biggest stories.
00:05 This is The Manila Times.
00:06 A grade five student dies after being slapped across the face by his teacher while in school.
00:14 According to reports, 14-year-old Francis J. Gumikib was hit on the side of the head
00:19 by his teacher after reporting his classmates who were being noisy during an exam in Peña
00:25 Francha Elementary School.
00:27 Gumikib told his mother that the teacher pulled his collar and his hair before slapping him.
00:34 After this, he repeatedly complained about severe headaches, as well as pain in his ear
00:39 on September 20.
00:41 He continued to attend classes after the incident.
00:44 And on September 26, he was rushed to the hospital after experiencing dizziness, vomiting,
00:50 and loss of balance.
00:52 Gumikib went into a coma and then passed away eventually on October 2.
00:59 Department of Education Antipolo has formed a team to investigate the incident.
01:03 Meanwhile, the school has placed the teacher on leave.
01:09 Here with us today is Department of Justice Undersecretary Raul Vazquez.
01:14 Welcome to The Manila Times, sir.
01:15 Yusek, one of the offices under your umbrella is Child Protection.
01:20 So what is your reaction to the grade 5 student Francis J. Gumikib who died after being hit
01:26 by his own teacher within school premises?
01:30 Good afternoon, Ezra.
01:34 And it's my pleasure to be your guest in this afternoon, in this interview.
01:41 Regarding that unfortunate incident, it is really deplorable.
01:47 And it's a sad event because supposed to be schools are the second home of our children.
01:55 And in fact, the parents could give or surrender the custody at al-Albaib temporarily to the
02:06 school and to their teachers with the thinking that they would be cared for and protected.
02:14 So that would be the height of irresponsibility and a violation of the trust and confidence.
02:21 And under our concept of law, we have a situation where the parents being the primary guardians,
02:35 when they give custody to the school and to the teachers, effectively the teachers are
02:44 considered as in loco parentis, meaning to say it's as if they are the second parents
02:50 or just like parents.
02:53 So for them to violate that mandate and that authority, it's a sad state.
03:00 Sir, the school, the report said when the parent came to the school, they wouldn't let
03:07 the teacher face the parents.
03:10 So even the school, they still let the teacher live.
03:14 So it's like they are still protecting the teacher.
03:17 So is it allowed what the school is doing?
03:20 Well, their primary responsibility should be the protection of the children.
03:25 So if the school authorities did as what you said they did, then they could be made answerable
03:33 before the Department of Education because of their failure to institute measures by
03:42 which the children under their care would be properly protected and safeguarded from
03:49 any harm or injury.
03:50 Sir, what are the possible cases that can be filed against the teacher, especially
03:56 that it has been reported that the incident caused the injury of the student.
04:04 So he went into a coma and eventually died on Monday.
04:08 So what are the cases that can be filed?
04:11 There are many cases that can be filed, Elra.
04:16 Number one would be homicide in relation to the Child Abuse Act, which means to say that
04:26 there will be a graver penalty than ordinary crime of homicide.
04:31 But there should be an intent to kill.
04:36 So that's a possible aspect.
04:39 I'm not prejudging the case.
04:41 I don't know about the circumstances, but if it was done negligently, then it would
04:49 be reckless imprudence.
04:51 We have a concept that it may not have been intended to cause the harm that was the result.
05:02 In other words, it will be said that there is no intent to kill.
05:06 So at the very least, we have a concept, a principle that is called in Latin, I will
05:12 speak a little bit of Latin.
05:16 La cosa de la cosa es cosa de la mal cosa.
05:19 That's Spanish and it's basically anchored on the Latin precept.
05:26 But the idea there is that you would be liable even if the act that you intended was not
05:35 really that abhorrent or it's not a crime, so as long as an injury resulted from your
05:42 act.
05:43 So that's for the criminal aspect.
05:45 The teacher could also be liable civilly for the damages that may have been incurred.
05:51 So the hospitalization, all incidental damages plus the potential of the child, whatever
06:01 the future, and of course, in the case of his death, there is also a monetary penalty
06:10 for that.
06:11 Thirdly, administratively, he can be liable.
06:17 His teacher can be dismissed from the PRC or he can be charged with other administrative
06:29 charges if the evidence whatsoever.
06:32 So at least criminally, civilly, and administratively, he can be liable for the incident.
06:41 It's a bit tricky, sir, because when he first attacked the child on September 20, the child
06:48 was admitted to the hospital three days after the incident.
06:53 And then he complained about headaches and then was hospitalized and then eventually
06:58 went into a coma and died on October 2.
07:02 So it's indirect, not direct.
07:05 Like you said, even though there was no intent to kill the child, but she is still liable.
07:11 Sir I have a question.
07:13 With the damages you mentioned and the possible revocation of her PRC license, is there a
07:19 jail time for that?
07:21 Yes, there is a jail time if it is shown in the evidence that if there is an intent to
07:27 kill, it is higher.
07:29 But if it is imprudence, because of her negligence, she did not do it on purpose, then the penalty
07:37 is lower.
07:38 But it is still higher because of the child abuse aspect of this violation of RA 7610.
07:49 It is important to consider that it can be an issue in the factual circumstances of the
07:56 case.
07:57 That's why it is necessary for ESRA to have a deep autopsy.
08:03 Here in the Department of Justice, the fiscal authority requires an automatic autopsy in
08:11 cases of suspicious deaths, especially if it is one that involves children, just like
08:18 in this case.
08:19 So they can have an autopsy automatically to find out the real reason for the child's
08:26 death.
08:27 Number one, this is what you said, tricky and complicated.
08:31 You're very right.
08:32 You hit that spot on.
08:34 It's possible that she has an underlying condition.
08:37 If the head is hit, her balance will be affected, it will affect her personality and her sanity.
08:50 There is also the aspect that because of the time that has passed, the defense can say
09:02 that there is no causality.
09:04 That's important in a criminal case.
09:07 The causality, your violation or offense will result in death or injury to the person.
09:19 If there is a discernible or substantial lapsing of time, the cause and effect will be broken.
09:28 It's like a Pavlovian in a criminal case.
09:31 The cause and effect is what you did resulted in death or injury.
09:38 If there is a break there and this break is substantial, that could be a factual issue
09:44 that has to be discussed and extensively studied by the prosecutors and the investigators.
09:54 Sir, lastly, what is your advice to educators in schools in treating their students and
10:01 keeping them safe to ensure that they don't fall again in the future?
10:07 Actually, we don't have to remind them at all because they know their duty.
10:12 As second parents, this concept that I said in loco parentis, as parents, the most important
10:19 thing for them is the well-being of the child.
10:24 Capital punishment is not allowed for children today.
10:28 Even in physical, psychological, emotional, mental, you're not supposed to perform any
10:36 act that would degrade the identity, the humanity of any person, especially a child.
10:45 Because you will not know the effect of what you did to deceive or abuse a child,
10:54 in their thinking, in their personality, in their health, in their well-being.
11:02 So the advice is they have to do their duties as educators, as second parents,
11:10 and as a human being in respecting the rights of vulnerable individuals, especially children.
11:20 That is one thing that they ought to know and they should know.
11:24 And violating that means that they would have to answer to the authorities and to the aggrieved
11:32 parents of any child.
11:34 Sir, there was another instance not so long ago of another student, grade 5 also, female,
11:41 11 years old, who was also raped by a teacher in school.
11:47 So do you think the DepEd must revisit somewhat of a training or an order to the schools about
11:58 these types of incidents?
12:00 Yes, certainly. Because you know, the rape that you're talking about, that is a forceful one.
12:08 Even if you don't have the force to have a relationship with a child who is 12 years or less,
12:15 it is a statutory rape.
12:19 And then if you have a relationship, even if you say it's your girlfriend or what,
12:24 at the very least, it's a qualified seduction.
12:29 There can be many crimes or abuses that can happen in a relationship in an atmosphere of a student and teacher relationship.
12:46 Because there is trust and confidence, there is a control situation.
12:55 That's where the abuse could come in because the child believes what the teacher says.
13:04 Or the child is threatened, they will give you a beating or what.
13:10 There are many situations like that.
13:12 So these situations should be brought to the attention of our authorities, particularly the Department of Education.
13:26 Even the colleges, if you think about the Commission on Higher Education,
13:33 they should really change their perspective and supervise all schools, whether elementary, high school or college.
13:48 Because the trust and confidence that is in their hands and in their hands should be embraced
14:01 and should be done without any reservation.
14:06 Thank you very much for that sir.
14:08 Like you said, the institutions, the DepEd and as well all of the schools basically have to revisit and be more careful when dealing with students.
14:19 Thank you so much Department of Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez. Thank you very much.
14:25 [No audio]
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