Hontiveros seeks Senate probe into abuse, sexual harassment by teachers

Senator Risa Hontiveros (File photo from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)

MANILA, Philippines — “Teachers and perpetrators who harass students have no business remaining in schools in the company of young students.”

So said opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday as she sought an inquiry, through Senate Resolution No. 168, into allegations of sexual harassment by educators in schools all over the country.

She stressed they must be held accountable too.

“Do our schools follow the law? Sexual harassment cases brought up to educational institutions’ notice must be resolved in a transparent, pro-active, and timely manner in order to ensure the swift delivery of justice,” Hontiveros said in a statement.

“Tila nagiging last resort ng mga estudyante ang pagre-report sa social media ng kanilang karanasan dahil baka hindi sila pinapakinggan o sineseryoso sa kanilang mga paaralan,” she added.

In the resolution, the senator called out school administrators “who  prioritize saving face instead of prompt and transparent case resolutions.”

Sadly, she said that alleged incidents of abuse and sexual harassment perpetrated by school staff “have been transpiring with almost regularity.”

She cited in the resolution the reported incidents of harassment and abuse involving teachers at Bacoor National High School in Cavite, St. Theresa’s College in Quezon City, and the Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA) in Los Baños.

“This creates more urgency for the effective, faithful, and timely implementation of the Safe Spaces Law in our schools to avoid cases of sexual harassment and to weed out perpetrators among the school ranks,” said Hontiveros, principal author of the law.

Under the law, she said, all schools whether public or private, are mandated to publish grievance procedures and to assign an officer-in-charge who can receive complaints regarding violations of the Act.

The reported culture of abuse, harassment, and violence at the PHSA in Laguna was the subject of another resolution Hontiveros had filed earlier.

According to the senator, all issues raised in the two resolutions will be tackled in a hearing next week.

KGA/abc