Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio | PHOTO: Official facebook page of Inday Sara Duterte
There will be no punishment for the public school teacher who recently went viral for scolding her students while livestreaming on TikTok, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte said on Thursday.
Duterte, currently in Cambodia for a working visit in her capacity as Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization head, said she already heard the teacher’s explanation and told the regional office concerned not to sanction her.
“Just to remind the teacher, if she’s angry, she has to pause. She can stop the class for a while,” Duterte told reporters in an interview in Phnom Penh.
“If she’s not angry anymore, she can resume the class. There’s a need to pause if the teacher is not happy with the class,” she said.
READ: Group cites ‘bigger problem’ behind teacher’s Tiktok rant
Pressed on why the teacher should not be penalized, Duterte replied, “We are all human[s].”
“We all get enraged. What we have to understand is what we will do when we are angry. And that is why I relayed a message to the teacher to take a pause if ever she’s angry,” she said.
The teacher, in her explanation, said she was “unaware” that her TikTok livestream was ongoing when she berated her students, according to Duterte.
Established policy needed
The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) welcomed the development, but it also called for an “established policy” regarding such cases.
“Well, at least we heard an assurance from VP Sara that the teacher will not be punished, and this statement should suffice for the DepEd (Department of Education) regional office to adhere to,” TDC chair Benjo Basas said in a separate statement.
READ: Classroom discipline or emotion dysregulation?
“However, we anticipate that this assurance will be formalized into a policy to ensure its application beyond this specific case,” he added.
The teacher, who works at a high school in Metro Manila, was earlier issued a show cause order and given 72 hours to explain why she should not be sanctioned. Netizens earlier criticized her for her choice of words. But Basas urged the public not to judge her based solely on the video, as he also asked the DepEd to determine the circumstances behind her outburst.