1) What happened in this case?

Joel Javarez who was then a school teacher at Iraray Elementary School in Sofronio Espanola, Palawan,

was accused of committing physical abuse and cruelty upon a ten (10) year old minor who he believed

the victim was the one who initiated and caused a dispute in the school he was working in. Same

petition was filed to the accused for committing abuse on a 9-year-old victim who he said to hit the face

with a broomstick after he asked a classmate for a piece of pop rice. The accused pleaded not guilty to

both charges. The petitioner stands that he was only a victim of a fabricated story and that he was only

trying to scold the first student for not behaving well while in class and tried to stop the other student

off a fistfight.

2.) What was the defense of the petitioner?

The petitioner’s side tells that as he was reviewing his class for the NAT, the first student was not
behaving well and kept on transferring seats despite his orders to stop. Later that same day, the
petitioner said he saw the second student involved in the case fighting with other students at the back
of the classroom. Upon seeing them, he tried to approach them and separate them with his arms. The
petitioner further insist that the complainants were merely fabricating their story because they were
influenced by their uncle who he said was angry at him.

3) What was the ruling of the case?

In Criminal Case No. 24935, petitioner Joel C. Javarez is ACQUITTED of violation of Section 10 (a), Article
VI, of RA 7610 because petitioner was found not to have meant to debase, degrade, or denigrate BBB's
inherent value and dignity as a human being in this instance. While beating BBB with a broomstick is
wrong, petitioner merely did so to prevent BBB and another pupil from fighting over pop rice. Therefore,
the court ruled the petitioner of Slight physical injuries and maltreatment the crime of slight physical
injuries shall be punished: By arresto menor or a fine not exceeding 20 pesos and censure when the
offender has caused physical injuries which do not prevent the offended party from engaging in his
habitual work nor require medical assistance.

On the other hand, in Criminal Case No. 24936, petitioner Joel C. Javarez is found GUILTY of SLIGHT
PHYSICAL INJURIES under paragraph 2, Article 266, of the Revised Penal Code. He is sentenced to twenty
(20) days of arresto menor. He is further ORDERED to pay BBB P5,000.00 moral damages which shall
earn interest at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum from date of finality of this decision until fully
paid. This is supported by the fact that the petitioner was only attempting to prevent two of his students
from fighting during class over food. AAA, as a bystander, was uninvolved in the brawl. There was no
proof that the petitioner intended to harm him in any way. There was no reason for the petitioner to be
concerned. As it stood, the petitioner was only concerned with the two combative pupils and not with
AAA or anybody else. However, it's probable that as a spectator, AAA was too near to the protagonists,
and when petitioner intervened to separate the protagonists, AAA was pushed back as well, and as a
result, AAA fell to the ground.

4) what was the main issue of the case?

The main issue in this case is the alleged abuse that happen between the petitioner and the

complainant. He was filed a case for hitting the first student with a broom while pushing the other

student. The petitioner pleaded not guilty of the complaint against him and insist that the students

involved in the alleged abuse was only fabricating stories. He also added that the story against him was

influenced by the complainant’s uncle who he said has something against him.