By: Emme Rose Santiagudo
A teacher who allegedly showed “lewd” videos to Grade 10 students of Pili National High School in Ajuy last week prompted the Department of Education (DepEd) Iloilo to investigate if certain laws were violated.
Dr. Roel Bermejo, DepEd Iloilo Schools Division Superintendent, said he directed the school principal of Pili NHS to submit an incident report which will be forwarded to the DepEd regional office as soon as possible.
“May directive kita na the soonest possible time. Ang aton legal officer nagtawag na sa opisina sang principal luwas pa sa written directive,” he said in a phone interview on Tuesday.
Bermejo said an ad hoc committee was also created to validate the incident report.
DepEd Iloilo province will forward the incident report to the DepEd regional director as the rightful disciplining authority since a teacher was involved, Bermejo added.
“Ang pag-commence sang nagaka-igo nga investigation depende sa regional office since the regional director is the disciplining authority sang aton mga teachers. Expectedly may ihatag sila nga direktiba sa pagconduct sang nagakaigo nga investigation on the due process,” he said.
In a separate interview, Mayor Jett Roxas of Ajuy said they are also investigating the incident.
“We are just waiting for the final report nga gin-conduct sang women’s desk. Then, we will write a letter to DepEd Iloilo province and attach the results of our report for proper investigation,” he said.
Based on their initial findings, Roxas said a male probationary teacher showed a “lewd” video to his Grade 10 students in one of their classes.
According to Roxas, the video from Youtube turned out to be inappropriate for the students as the material included clips on how to spice up the relationship of adults and married couples.
“Probationary teacher siya indi siya board passer and ang video daw sex education siya for adult and married couples and wala kita kabalo if iba na ang standards sang Deped pero daw indi appropriate for children,” he said.
According to Roxas, he has nothing against teaching the students sex education especially with the rising cases of teenage pregnancies.
However, he reiterated that there are appropriate education materials which are more suitable for the students.
“Wala ko ya personally anything against sa sex education sa mga kabataan kay damo sang mga kaso sang teenage pregnancies but tani with appropriate material na hindi man mastimulate ang mga sexually active,” he said.
Roxas emphasized that parents should be mindful of the activities of their children especially that videos and games that are easily accessible from the internet have a huge impact on the youth.
“Sa ginikanan tinguhaoon naton nga bal-an naton ang mga activities or ginalantaw nga series and hampang nga videogames sang kabataan otherwise dako ang buhin sa oras kag sa pagtuon nila,” he said.
In an official statement issued on Tuesday, the DepEd-6 regional office assured the public that the said matter will be dealt with in a just and objective manner strictly adhering to statutory policies in the department.
“While the department empowers our teachers to effectively deliver the lessons in various approaches and strategies, it ensures that the classroom should not only be a conducive place but also a healthy and wholesome environment for learning. The department is serious in implementing mechanisms anchored on Child Protection Policy where every learner is protected from child abuse and his right and dignity are upheld,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, Bermejo reminded teachers in the province to be careful in using education and instruction materials in their respective schools.
“Always maging careful sa pag-handle sa estudyante especially sa materials nga ginagamit sa pag-deliver instruction sa aton mga buluthuan,” he said.
