Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 27) — A year after the Department of Education (DepEd) launched a hotline to report cases of abuse involving students, it said verbal abuse remains the top concern of callers.
Of the 1,709 reports received since the hotline started, DepEd chief and Vice President Sara Duterte said the most reported cases involve verbal abuse followed by sexual abuse and cyber bullying.
The Learner Telesafe Contact Center Helpline was launched in 2022 as part of the DepEd’s Learners’ Rights & Protection Office (LRPO).
The primary objective of this helpline is to offer immediate assistance, intervention, and referral to any reported incidents of learner rights and protection violations,” Duterte in a speech at a National Children’s Month event on Monday.As the country observes National Children’s Month, Duterte said the LRPO is also preparing guidelines to implement the Safe Spaces Law in basic education institutions.The measure states that a school must take steps to resolve reported incidents of abuse.The DepEd will also issue a clear policy on how schools can appropriately handle and treat children affected by armed conflict.
