MANILA – Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte assured that no punishment would be administered to a public school teacher who gained online attention for reprimanding her students during a live TikTok stream. Duterte merely recommended that the teacher take a pause to compose herself when experiencing frustration.
“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,” Duterte said.
“Sinabihan ko ang regional office natin na there will be no penalties for the teacher. Just to remind the teacher that if she is angry, she has to pause. Itigil muna iyong klase. And when she’s not angry anymore, saka siya magklase ulit,” she added.
On Monday, the teacher received a show-cause order and was given a 72-hour window to provide an explanation for her actions. In a TikTok livestream, the teacher expressed frustration towards her students, admonishing them in Filipino for what she perceived as a lack of boundaries and consistent disrespect towards her. She used derogatory terms like “ugaling iskwater” (behaving like a squatter) and “ingrato” (ungrateful) to address them.
However, according to Duterte, the teacher asserted that she was unaware of being online while recording the video. Duterte also mentioned that students who felt distressed by the teacher’s actions could seek psychosocial support.
Policy to protect teacher
The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) has welcomed this development, stating that it reflects “some level of empathy from the DepEd leadership towards the teacher.” However, the group emphasized the need for Duterte’s statement to be formalized into a policy to ensure its consistent application beyond this specific incident.
The TDC has been advocating for a review of the DepEd Child Protection Policy and amendments to Republic Act 7610, also known as the Anti-Child Abuse Law, which it believes places teachers at a disadvantage.
In a previous statement, TDC chairperson Benjo Basas remarked that the viral video highlights a larger issue – discipline within schools.
“In a classroom setting, discipline is indispensable. Children need discipline to learn. Unfortunately, the ability to discipline children is rendered obsolete by the classification of almost all forms of discipline as child abuse in our existing policies,” he said.
