BULLYING is not limited among classmates or even schoolmates, said Dr. Marcial Degamo of the Department of Education (DepEd) 7.
There are also cases when teachers bully their students, said Degamo, head of the DepEd 7’s Quality Assurance and Accountability Division.
He told Sun.Star Cebu about the case of a teacher in Medellin who is the subject of a complaint from his students at the Curva Elementary School.
Degamo was referring to the case filed by parents and Medellin Mayor Ricardo Ramirez against Jeremias Pino.
The grade 5 teacher was accused of not holding classes, collecting illegal school funds and borrowing money from his students.
Denial
In a phone interview, Pino denied the allegations, saying these are baseless.
He said the DepEd Cebu province division conducted an investigation where he was able to air his side.
“Let us just wait for the results,” he said.
He said he has not been summoned by the grievance committee at the DepEd regional office.
Eight parents of students at the Curva Elementary School trooped to DepEd Cebu province office in Lahug, Cebu City to file a complaint against Pino.
They said their children do not want to attend Pino’s class because he doesn’t teach, he sleeps in class and he only shows up thrice a week.
Ma. Luisa Cabahug, one of the complainants, said the case was brought to the DepEd regional office last Monday.
“If the case is not resolved within 10 days, mag-rally mi (we will stage a rally),” she said.
No complaint
Meanwhile, Degamo said he has not received any complaint against Pino.
Maybe the case is still with the provincial division, he said.
He said the department has an anti-bullying program aimed at protecting students.
“We already disseminated the information on the DepEd’s child protection policy,” he said.
The program, which involves public and private schools, is integrated into the curriculum while a series of forum is also being organized.
The parents-teachers associations of these schools are actively involved in anti-bullying activities, said Degamo.
“The focus (of the program) is to teach proper values, honesty and respect for neighbors,” he said.