VP Duterte says no penalty will be given to teacher in viral scolding video
No penalty will be given to the public school teacher who went viral on social media for scolding her students on live video, Vice President Sara Duterte said.
Duterte, who also serves as the Department of Education (DepEd) secretary, shared her reaction to the viral clip during her Cambodia trip on Thursday, March 21.
"Ang una kong naging reaction is tao lang 'yung teacher. Lahat tayo umaabot sa punto na nagagalit tayo, lalo 'pag nafu-frustrate tayo. This is especially true sa mga teachers dahil ang teachers natin, hindi lang isa na tao ang kausap nila. Ang isang klase ay mayroong from 25 to 45, sometimes 55 students," Duterte told the press in an interview, as reported by ABS-CBN News.
According to Duterte, the educator said she was not aware that she was online when she began lashing out at the students.
When she heard the teacher's explanation, she ordered the department's regional office to issue no penalties for her.
"Just to remind the teacher that if she is angry, she has to pause. Itigil muna 'yung klase. And when she's not angry anymore, saka siya magklase ulit. There's a need to pause pag galit iyong teacher. Iyon lang ang sinabi ko na i-remind sa teacher," she added.
In the video, which has since been circulating on social media, the teacher can be seen getting angry at her students who allegedly disrespected her.
"Una sa lahat, hindi niyo kami binabayaran dito para magtau-tauhan at gawin niyong robot at gawin niyong katatawanan sa harapan. Pangalawa, hindi ako nag-board exam para lang hindi irespeto ng mga katulad niyong wala pa namang nararating sa buhay," she yelled in the clip.
"Ang kakapal ng mukha niyo. Hindi niyo nga kayang buhayin ang mga sarili niyo, 'di kayo marunong rumespeto. Mag-board exam din kayo para malaman niyo kung hanggang saan kayo. Baka nga di pa kayo pumasa eh, sa ugali niyong ganyan. Di na nga kayo matalino eh, sama pa ng ugali niyo. Wala kayong mararating. Ako na ang nagsasabi sa inyo, wala kayong lugar sa mundo," she continued.
She also referred to them as "inggrato" and "ugaling squatter."
Duterte said that the students who were hurt by the teacher's remarks could undergo psychosocial support from those who are trained for stress debriefing.
DepEd Assistant Secretary Francis Bringas previously said in a press conference that the teacher, who was only identified as teaching in high school in Metro Manila, was given 72 hours to explain her actions.
The department said it would also conduct a thorough investigation into the matter, noting that the video alone was not enough to determine if sanctions are needed.
"If we mainly judge it based on the video that we saw on social media, hindi natin talaga ma-ascertain kasi hindi ganoon ka-audible iyong audio galing sa mga mag-aaral. And the video came already at a point na galit na siya and hindi natin nakita iyong prior to the situation na galit na galit na siya," Bringas said.
"Initial information that we got is parang na-prompt iyong teacher na magsalita nang ganoon because some or a certain group of learners in the class made remarks that are truly hurtful to her," he added.
He cautioned teachers to be responsible enough on their social media pages, noting, "Hindi dapat na ginagamit ang sarili mong account para i-publish ang whatever is ongoing in class, lalong-lalo na kung may mga bata sa iyong video."
Department Order 49 Series of 2022 mandates that employees and officials of DepEd must be cautious in using social media and warned against spreading false information as well as launching attacks against colleagues.