The Department of Education (DepEd) launched an investigation into the alleged sexual advancements made by six teachers to their students in Bacoor National High School in Cavite.
This was confirmed by DepEd spokesman Michael Poa in a message to reporters, who said the School Division Office of Bacoor, Cavite, was alerted about the problem last week.
"The allegations of sexual harassment in Bacoor National High School is very disturbing news and we are taking this very seriously. The DepEd, under the leadership of Vice President and Secretary Sara Duterte, has zero-tolerance for any form of abuse," Poa said.
"The investigation is being handled by our Regional Office, in coordination with the Schools Division Office. It is the DepEd regional director that has disciplinary jurisdiction over teaching staff," he added.
Poa said the six teachers, whose identities were not disclosed, have been placed on “floating status.”
"This is very, very disturbing. I have already spoken to the undersecretary concerned. We will refer this to our Child Protection Committee," he continued.
DepEd also encourages students who were victims of alleged sexual harassment to come forward.
"There is no estimate yet as to how many students are involved or have complained. We are encouraging students to come forward," Poa said.
The announcement of the DepEd comes after a Twitter post, which shows screenshots of the conversation between the teachers and students as old as 2014, went viral.
Twitter user @eexpresso_o said the post was originally uploaded on Facebook but got deleted.
tw: pedophilia, sexual harassment, grooming
— expresso 🍡 (@eexpresso_o) August 27, 2022
Some students at Bacoor National High School Molino Main have come forward with their experiences with some of the teachers there. PLEASE SPREAD!!!!
Facebook kept on deleting the posts so we decided to spread awareness here
Based on the Twitter thread, one of these teachers had been posting photos of his students on his social media accounts and making sexual innuendos. The oldest post could be traced back to 2014, based on the screenshot.
In one instance, a Facebook user commented on the teacher’s post, "Ang daming masarap ha (Many of them look yummy), to which the teacher responded, "Ay naku sinabi mo pa (This is really true)."
One screenshot of the supposed conversation also showed a student being asked if he has had experiences with a gay person and if he would like to “try” it.
On Twitter, Bacoor City Mayor Lani Mercado-Revilla advised victims to file a formal complaint.
“This has been reported to the DepEd Regional Office and at present ongoing investigation. The teachers involved are no longer holding classes. We will be monitoring this issue. Best if the victims/ students file formal complaints to Bacoor Schools Division Superintendent,” she wrote.
