Just two teachers facing ‘child grooming’ cases under DepEd
MANILA, Philippines — After a firestorm of sexual abuse allegations from students surfaced on social media in recent years, many of whom were minors when the incidents took place, the Department of Education said just two teachers under the agency have been charged with “child grooming” cases.
DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa shared this data during the House appropriations committee’s budget hearing for the education department on Wednesday.
“Ang ongoing na child grooming cases na nahandle ay yung sa Cavite. Ongoing ang prosecution. At meron sa Zamboanga. So two cases ang officially under ng DepEd ngayon (The ongoing child grooming cases that have been handled are in Cavite. Prosecution for that is ongoing. And there’s one in Zamboanga. So two cases are officially under DepEd right now),” Poa said.
The problem is that too few victims or witnesses come forward and submit a formal affidavit testifying to their experiences, which hinders the progress of investigations, Poa said in an ambush interview with reporters after the DepEd budget hearing.
"Meaning what we get are probably whatever we see on social media. But as you know pagdating sa formal investigation, kailangan may nagbibigay saatin ng affidavit o salaysay kung ano nangyari sakanila o yung alam nila na nangyari sa kakilala nila (But as you know, when it comes to formal investigation, someone has to submit an affidavit or narrative about what happened to them or what they know happened to others)," Poa said.
Poa added that the department handles all cases with "utmost confidentiality" but cannot move forward without victims' affidavits.
Studies have shown that survivors of sexual assault struggle to seek justice in formal channels due to fear of retaliation and often experience revictimization when interrogated by authorities about the incident.
Confidential funds meant to stamp out child groomers?
This was in response to a question raised by Rep. Raoul Manuel (Kabataan Party-list) on whether the DepEd’s confidential funds have boosted the agency’s efforts to stamp out campus predators or teachers sexually pursuing minors under their care.
In particular, Manuel had asked the education department whether it has data on the exact number of victims of child grooming for the past year and how many cases are handled by DepEd.
Among other issues, "sexual abuse" was one of the reasons DepEd cited in 2022 when it requested a hefty sum of confidential funds. DepEd's statement in 2022 said that sexual abuse and other forms of violence ... "need the support of surveillance and intelligence gathering to ensure that projects of DepEd... will result in the broader protection of our personnel and learners."
With just two teachers being probed by DepEd for child grooming, Manuel said that the department's answer is “disappointing” given the large number of complaints his office receives.
“Kahit sa social media ang dami. So kung may confidential funds ang DepEd, kung pagbabatayan ang performance regarding this matter na cinite last year, walang mapakitang magandang performance ang DepEd (Even on social media, there are many [complaints]. So if DepEd has confidential funds, and we base it on the performance regarding the matter cited last year, DepEd does not have a good performance),” Manuel said.
“Parang ang dating sakin nagiimbento tayo ng dahilan to justify ang confidential funds (It seems to me that reasons are being invented to justify the confidential funds),” the lawmaker added.
For the second year in a row, DepEd is seeking P150 million in confidential funds for its proposed budget for 2024. This is the same amount it received from Congress in 2023.
Poa said during the House briefing that DepEd submits liquidation reports for its confidential fund expenditures to oversight agencies every quarter, as required by law.
Office for learners’ safety
While Poa did not specify which cases in Cavite and Zamboanga, there were at least five teachers in Cavite who were slapped with administrative charges in 2022 for allegedly making sexual advances on students.
These five teachers taught at Bacoor National High School (BNHS) and screenshots of their alleged conversations with students, which included inappropriate messages, made rounds on social media in 2022.
RELATED: Admin charges filed vs Cavite teachers accused of sexual harassment
In July, an organization formed by victims of sexual abuse in schools said that DepEd had yet to get back to BNHS victims and update them on the status of its investigation and plans to secure the safety of students.
A month earlier, Enough is Enough said that it received reports that one of the accused teachers “aggressively stalked” a minor in the comfort room of a mall.
Similarly, the gorup had called on DepEd to shape up its system for resolving cases of sexual harassment and assault following reports of a Grade 7 teacher raping his student in April.
Enough is Enough said that DepEd’s initiatives to strengthen students’ protection, including the recently formed Child Protection Unit, “has not made a dent in preventing perverts who are supposed to act as the youth’s second parents while in campus.”
“The Child Protection Unit of the DepEd must re-strategize in order to be efficient protectors and upholding children’s rights. They must double their efforts and commence in adapting the recommendations we presented in a dialogue with them last year,” Enough is Enough said.
DepEd data on child pornography, drug cases
In 2022, DepEd also cited “child pornography” and the proliferation of illegal drugs as among the issues it wants to address through the use of confidential funds.
Poa shared that DepEd has monitored a significant increase in child pornography websites in the past year — from 23,000 to 81,000.
“Yung average age na narerescue sa ganyan around 11 years old (The average age of children being rescued is 11 years old),” Poa said.
Meanwhile, DepEd Secretary and Vice President Sara Duterte said around 1,207 learners were arrested for drug-related offenses. Poa said this data is collected through DepEd's own internal activities and through different agencies such as the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
DepEd has been repeatedly criticized by Makabayan lawmakers for its request for confidential funds despite being a civilian agency and the existence of other education programs in need of a higher budget — like learning recovery and mental health programs.
A DepEd official said around P160 million will go toward its mental health programs and improvement of guidance counselors for 2024, which is also "intertwined with other programs for substance abuse prevention and adolescent reproductive health."
"I'm alarmed mas mataas pa budget natin sa confidential funds ng DepEd kaysa sa mental health programs when DepEd itself has data that everyday may nagpapakamatay na basic education students (I'm alarmed that the budget for confidential funds in DepEd is higher than the mental health programs when DepEd itself has data that everyday there is a student dying by suicide)," Manuel said.
"So 'di ko magets yung priorities ng DepEd sa ngayon (So I don't get the priorities of DepEd right now)," he added.
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