Garcia, Maryjane S.

IT Professional Code of Ethics

III-BSITE June 22, 2009

ACTIVITY #1

Teacher's heavy hand

Scolding a student by rapping bare knuckles on his head can get a
teacher in trouble. This was happened to a public school teacher who was
accused of humiliating a high school boy six years ago. Vigil Lanquino, an
English teacher of Don Carlos Gothong National High School in barangay San
Nicolas, Cebu City, is facing charges of violation of the Special Protection of
Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act. The Office of
the Ombudsman in the Visayas elevated the case to the Regional Trial Court
after finding probable cause to indict the teacher. Lanquino denied the charges.
She said the second year high school student fabricated the allegation after he
flunked his English class. However, the teacher failed to present a witness to
support her account.
With this, Graft Investigation and Prosecutor Officer 1 Charina Navarra-
Quijano recommended the filing of charges in court. “Respondent's denial, and
assertions are matters of defense, which could be best established during trial,”
said Quijano in a resolution approved by Ombudsman Ma. Merceditas N.
Gutierrez.
Bail was recommended at P16,000. The complaint was filed in June 2003
but the information of the case was filed only yesterday at the Regional Trial
Court criminal division. If convicted, Lanquino faces six to eight years in prison.
Lanquino is accused of violating section 10, paragraph a of Republic Act
7610, punishes “any person who shall commit any other acts of child abuse,
cruelty or exploitation or to be responsible for other conditions prejudicial to the
child's development.”
The complainant was 14 years old when the incident happened. The
student said he lost interest in attending the class for fear that he may be hit
again and ridiculed. According to the boy, he was attending class held inside the
library in March 2003 when Lanquino approached him and said loudly:
“Ikaw ha, absenos kaayo ka (Hey you, you’re a frequent absentee).” At the
same time, the teacher allegedly rapped him in the head with her knuckles.
“The maltreatment caused and subjected me to ridicule and jokes of my
fellow students when in truth, I am not a frequent absentee but was only absent
four times in March 2003 as shown in my report card,” the complainant said. The
youth said Lanquino was known to be “ill-treating and cruel” to her students.
“I know I am just an average student but things were made more difficult
for me, and to my fellow students, under the style and treatment of Mrs.
Lanquino. Moreso, I saw how she applied physical force and physical
punishment to my classmates, which would obviously demean our dignity and
worth as a human being endowed with civil and human rights under the law,” said
the complainant. In her counter-affidavit, the teacher denied ever hitting the boy.
She said the allegation was a “clever ploy” by the student and his parents to get
even with her for giving the youth a failing grade of 72 in English. Lanquino said it
was impossible for her to have hit the student on the head because she was
recuperating from major surgery at the time.
“I could not exert effort to inflict bodily harm on the complainant,” she said.
She said the boy would have presented himself for medical examination if
he was really injured. Lanquino explained that after her two-month leave of
absence, fellow teachers told her that this student had not finished projects
required in their subjects. Since he was absent from his class, Lanquino said she
told the student's mother that her son would fail if he didn’t submit projects
required by his teachers. She related that in March 2003, while she was in the
classroom, a student told her the complainant was coming over.
She said she approached the boy, and out of joy, tapped him on the
shoulder and asked, “Dodong, nganong karon ra man ka (Why show up only
now)?”
She said she asked students to compete their school requirements but
that the boy failed to do so and got a grade of 72. She said the complainant's
witness, a fellow student, also had an axe to grind against her for being
reprimanded in class and being made to answer for the loss of funds of the class
association. The graft investigator, however, was not convinced by the simple
denial.
“She could have at least presented any one of the students at the library
who were with her on March 22, 2003 when she spoke with the complainant.
These students could corroborate her version of the story,” the resolution said.
“The fact that the complainant's witness may have an axe to grind against
the respondent does not automatically render his testimony incredible.”

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/news/view/20090611-
209916/Teachers-heavy-hand

R E A C T I O N…

Teachers don’t have the right to punish his/her students physically or

verbally. Punishments are not the right thing to do to discipline students. If your
student has a bad attitude that needs disciplinary action, you must first bring
him/her to the guidance councilor. The guidance councilor knows what he/she
going to do to the student. The one who have the right to discipline the student is
their parents. Teachers should not punish his/her students physically or verbally,
they should not hurt their students because it is against the law. They may file
case to you like Child Abuse. Teaches trained to teach students and not to hurt
them.