24/08/2026
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TDC REITERATES CALL FOR TEACHER PROTECTION, URGES PASSAGE OF BILL
The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) reiterates its call for the immediate adoption of the substitute bill institutionalizing the support mechanisms and protection for teachers or the Teacher Protection Policy Bill, particularly in light of the increasingly complex risks confronting both teachers and learners inside and around our schools.
The tragic incidents in Tacloban City and Zamboanga City should remind us that our schools are not automatically safe spaces. These incidents demonstrate the vulnerability of our learners—and, at the same time, the very real physical risks faced by teachers who are expected to maintain order, respond to emergencies and protect their students even when they themselves may be in danger.
Schools must be safe for everyone. Learners must be protected from violence, and teachers must likewise be protected from violence, threats harassment and unjust treatment. We do not raise the issue of teacher protection as a counterpoint to child protection. These are not competing interests. They are inseparable responsibilities of the State.
We recognize the government's duty to protect children from abuse, neglect and all forms of violence. We likewise recognize the responsibility of teachers to maintain a safe and orderly learning environment. But teachers cannot be expected to perform these responsibilities effectively when they are placed in overcrowded classrooms, provided inadequate support personnel, given insufficient mechanisms for managing difficult situations, and then left vulnerable to complaints, harassment or even physical attack when they attempt to do their jobs.
The recent school shootings provide a stark illustration of this vulnerability. The danger facing schools is not limited to disciplinary incidents or allegations of child abuse. Learners and teachers may also face threats from fi****ms, violence, bullying, retaliation, online influences and other forms of danger. The State therefore has an obligation to provide comprehensive protection—not merely policies that become relevant after something has already happened.
Our recent survey among teachers who experienced or witnessed child-abuse complaints arising from classroom situations shows another dimension of the problem. Many complaints emerged from ordinary classroom discipline like reprimanding learners, addressing disruptive behavior and attempting to maintain order. These situations often occur in classrooms already burdened by large class sizes, inadequate guidance and SNED personnel and the absence of clear and workable discipline mechanisms agreed upon by schools, parents and learners.
When a teacher is placed in an environment where discipline is necessary, but the means of enforcing it are unclear, the system is effectively setting the teacher up to fail. We want to make it clear that any form of abuse or misconduct by a teacher must never be tolerated. At the same time, teachers must also be protected as they carry out their duties.
There are already laws and policies intended to protect children, including the DepEd Child Protection Policy and RA 7610. These must be fully implemented. But the existence of child-protection measures should never mean that teachers lose their right to due process or become automatically presumed guilty whenever a complaint is filed against them. Teachers are entitled to protection under the Constitution and the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers (RA 4670). They must not be subjected to public shaming, intimidation, harassment, extortion, threats or social-media trial before an impartial investigation has even been completed.
For the TDC, a genuine Teacher Protection Policy should therefore go beyond shielding teachers from unfounded complaints. It must establish clear protocols for handling allegations, guarantee due process, provide legal and psychosocial assistance to teachers facing complaints, and protect them from harassment, threats, public shaming and other forms of abuse. It should likewise strengthen school safety mechanisms, establish clear procedures for responding to threats and violent incidents, and ensure that teachers are not expected to confront dangerous situations without adequate training, support and protection.
The State must also address the conditions that contribute to conflict inside classrooms: excessive class sizes, limited facilities, insufficient guidance and special needs education personnel, inadequate school security, weak intervention mechanisms, and the absence of consistent, community-agreed approaches to discipline. A Teacher Protection Policy should not be understood as a license for teachers to commit abuse. It should be understood as a mechanism to ensure that teachers can perform their duties responsibly, safely and with due process.
We cannot demand that teachers protect children while leaving teachers themselves unprotected. We cannot expect teachers to maintain discipline while making them afraid to intervene. We cannot ask teachers to respond to emergencies while ignoring the physical dangers they may face alongside their learners. We cannot build safe schools while teachers themselves remain vulnerable.
The TDC therefore calls for the immediate passage and implementation of a comprehensive Teacher Protection Policy that recognizes teacher protection, child protection and school safety as interconnected obligations of the State. #
August 24, 2026
