DepEd records 1,700 abused children in student safety hotline

MANILA, Philippines — Over 1,700 reports of children experiencing abuse at school and at home have been recorded by the Department of Education in its student safety hotline, according to Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte.

“Teachers and non-teaching personnel should always keep in mind that schools should be healthy, safe spaces,” Duterte told reporters during the National Children’s Month culmination activity in Manila yesterday.

Based on data recorded by DepEd’s Learner Rights and Protection Office, about 1,709 reports have been yielded in the Learners’ Telesafe Contact Center Hotline, which was launched in November last year to address child abuse cases and bolster child protection measures.

Duterte said the lion’s share of complaints involve children who experienced verbal abuse at school.

She noted that the agency has mechanisms to deal with conflict resolution and for the filing of administrative and criminal cases against perpetrators of child abuse.

“If the case warrants the filing of criminal cases, we reach out to the Philippine National Police and we seek their help in filing cases. We start with those two – administrative and criminal cases,” she said.

“In cases of misunderstandings, our first priority is helping both parties reconcile,” she added.