By MARTHA TEODORO
Bulatlat.com

Trigger warning: Mention of sexual assault of minors.

BULACAN – November 18 of last year, 12 year-old Christine (not her real name) was invited by her volleyball coach to accompany him to a public high school where he claimed that he was asked to train the students there.

No training happened. Christine was instead brought to a dormitory where her own school’s varsity players were housed during training. And that was when the unexpected and the unacceptable happened. Christine was sexually assaulted by her coach whom she trusted.

This also happened to Christine’s older sister whom the same coach also invited to accompany him to a volleyball game at a known university in Manila where he serves as assistant coach. But instead of going to the game, they detoured and the coach brought her to the same dormitory where she was also sexually harassed.

Seeing changes in her daughters’ behavior, including their lack of interest in going to school and with one of the daughters trying to hurt herself, the mother felt disturbed and asked them what happened. She reached out to the school but was told that they could not act on the matter until a formal complaint is filed. This prompted her to file a complaint before the Office of the City Prosecutor of San Jose Del Monte Bulacan on January 6, 2025. 

It was later found out that the coach had other victims but many were afraid to file complaints, except for another mother whose two daughters were also sexually assaulted or harassed by the coach.

In response to the complaint, the school through its president and director met with the parents of the victims. But they became adamant when the school initiated a face-to-face dialogue with the perpetrator together with the victims. Noting the trauma that the children underwent, most of the parents refused.

As a disciplinary action against the coach, the school suspended him for three months, but was later on reinstated. The mother of Christine decided to transfer her daughters to a different school.

Sexual harassment of minors

The Philippine National Police’s Women and Children Protection Center (WCPC) reported that from January to April 2025, the national office was able to record 96 cases of gender-based sexual harassment involving minors as defined by Republic Act 11313, or the Safe Space Act.

Out of the 96 cases, 48 cases involved 15 to 17-year-olds. And while 78 cases involved strangers as suspects, two cases were reported involving a teacher as the suspect.

Most of the cases happened along the streets, with 44 cases. The venue with the second most reported cases is the residence, with 11 cases. The school had three reported cases.

The Safe Spaces Act

The Safe Spaces Act became a law on April 17, 2019. However, its guidelines were only released by the Department of Education on Feb. 7, 2024.

The law protects women and children in public spaces, including streets, parks, buildings, public and private vehicles, and schools. According to Section 4, it covers sexual behaviors such as whistling, touching someone without their consent, making crude or offensive remarks, and catcalling. These behaviors can occur on the streets, in malls, on public transportation, at schools, and even in privately owned places that are open to the public.

Since the enactment of this Act, WCPC has received a total of 895 reports of gender-based sexual harassment. The report focuses on the harassment of minors, revealing that female minors reported 853 cases, while male minors reported 42. Exactly 446 of these cases involved young people aged 15 to 17, and the number of harassment incidents significantly and consistently increased following DepEd’s recommendation to expand face-to-face classes in schools.

Article V of RA 11313 outlined the obligations that all schools must adhere to. Schools must designate an officer-in-charge to handle these types of grievances. They are required to adopt a grievance procedure that investigates complaints and makes decisions within 10 days of receiving them, taking appropriate steps, such as administrative penalties, to resolve the situation.

It was only in February 2024 that  DepEd released Memorandum Order No. OM-OUOPS-2024-05 01115, its Guidelines on the Implementation of the Safe Spaces Act in Basic Education Institutions. 

According to Section 12 of the Guidelines, schools are required to create a Code of Conduct and establish a Committee on Decorum and Investigation (CODI). While it enumerates punishable acts in Section 6, it does not directly state the punishment the suspect receives after the school’s investigation through its CODI.

Bulatlat contacted DepEd regarding its policies and procedures for handling sexual harassment cases, but the agency has not responded.

According to this Act, the school is obliged to facilitate immediate interventions for victims, such as referral to an agency offering professional help, coordination with advocacy and support groups, and mental health and psychosocial support services. 

As prescribed by Section 18 of the guidelines, the school must also refer the victims to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), which would direct the family to the Child Protection Network of Philippine General Hospital. This Network provides the assessment and case management for psychosocial support. The victims in this case have already attended at least two sessions.

Creating safe spaces for children

In an interview with ACT Teachers Partylist’s Dr. David Michael San Juan, he questioned the strategy to mediate the harassment incident with a face-to-face meeting. Even if this was mediated by the school, this does not help the students cope with what happened.

When asked what a parent can do when their child is sexually assaulted in school, Alliance of Concerned Teachers National Chairperson Vladimir Quetua said that their union provides guidance in handling such incidents. “We bring the matter to the school’s division office, and, as much as possible, we request a lawyer; we ask for help. In the NCR, we have lawyers. In the provinces, there aren’t any, but the basic principle is that they must go through due process. What DepEd does is bring together the accused and the accuser, along with the union, and basically, it’s the regional office of DepEd that resolves the matter.” 

He explained that in these kinds of cases, “The case should have been shared with selected people only. We give advice to both sides. Of course, our goal is to prevent any child from experiencing abuse.”

He also provided suggestions in handling such cases, to have it first reported to the barangay and police upon finding out about these harassment incidents to ensure that the child will not be touched again. But because the family has already filed a case in court, DepEd will have minimal movements on the case. The family members will have to wait for a court decision instead. “We know how long that takes. And obviously, the mother just wanted justice so she even reached out to you.”Bulatlat tried to reach out to Christine’s school for comment, but has not received any response. (RTS, DAA)

Editor’s note: Names of victims have been withheld to protect their identity.