By:

ULPIANO ‘ULAN’ P. SARMIENTO III

Teacher-Lawyer

Negros Occidental Private Schools Sports Cultural Educational Association (NOPSSCEA)

Bacolod City @ September 4, 2008
 DO
Required Personnel Conduct…
“Every teacher shall merit reasonable
social recognition for which purpose he
shall behave with honor and dignity at all
times and refrain from such activities as
gambling, smoking, drunkenness and other
excesses, much less illicit relations.”
(Code of Ethics, Article III, Section 3)
 “A teacher shall place premium upon
self-respect and self-discipline as the
principle of personal behavior in all
relationships with others and in all
situations.”
(Code of Ethics, Article XI, Section 2)
 “A teacher shall maintain at all times
a dignified personality which could serve
as model worthy of emulation by
learners, peers, and others.”
(Code of Ethics, Article XI, Section 3)
 DON’T
Grave Misconduct…
Meaning: which is—
• The willful, improper behavior, and
implies wrongful intent and NOT
mere error of judgment
• Violation of an established and
definite rule of action
Labor Jurisprudence…

For GRAVE MISCONDUCT to be valid

and just cause for termination—
“x x x must be a DIRECT
RELATION to and CONNECTED
with performance of official
duties.”
As a rule—

MISCONDUCT outside
workplace / beyond working
hours NOT a valid ground to
terminate employee
Issue No. 1…

Query:

Is GRAVE MISCONDUCT committed by

School Personnel outside the school
campus and beyond school hours a
valid ground or just cause for
termination?
Is this applicable to
school personnel?
Joseph Santos vs. NLRC, Hagonoy Institute, Inc.

“As teacher, (one) serves as an example to

his/her pupils xxx.
Consequently xxx teachers must adhere to
the exacting standards of morality and decency.
xxx A teacher both in his official and personal
conduct must display exemplary behavior.”
He must freely and willingly accept restrictions
on his conduct that might be viewed irksome xxx
the personal behavior of teachers, IN AND
OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM, must be beyond
reproach xxx they must observe a high standard
of integrity and honesty.”
 How about Non-
Academic Personnel?
 DO
Are Non-Academic Personnel also
obliged to discipline students?

ANSWER—

Section 74 of MRPS provides:

“Every private school shall maintain
good school discipline x x x.”
Hence—
All school personnel, Academic or Non-
Academic, have the duty to—
a) Teach discipline;
b) Prevent intended misconduct from
being committed;
c) Stop a misconduct being committed;
and
d) Report to authorities student’s
misconduct
 DON’T
However, non-academic personnel
DOES NOT have authority to impose
sanctions/penalties for Student
Misconduct.

REASON—
 Section 75 of MRPS provides that
only “x x x School officials and
academic personnel shall have the
right to impose appropriate and
reasonable disciplinary measures in
cases of minor offenses or infraction of
good discipline committed in their
presence. x x x”
 DO
Legal Basis to Discipline Students…

1)To establish and maintain

order in school campus
Legal Responsibility of Schools…

In PSBC vs. CA—

“Institutions of learning must also

meet the implicit or “built-in”
obligations of providing their
students with an atmosphere that
promotes or assists in attaining its
primary undertaking of imparting
knowledge.”
 Certainly, no student can absorb the
intricacies of physics or higher
mathematics or explore the realm of
the arts and other sciences when
bullets are flying or grenades
exploding in the air or where there
looms around the school premises a
constant threat to life and limb.
Necessarily, the school must ensure
that adequate steps are taken to
maintain peace and order within the
campus premises and to prevent the
breakdown thereof.
2)To develop moral character
and personal discipline
 “x x x a College has a
vital interest in the
character of students x x x”
School responsibility for character
development for maintaining standards
of decency and good taste, and for
providing a moral climate in and outside
the campus.
3)To protect the good name
and reputation of School
 The Supreme Court said in Angeles
vs. Sison, school’s obligation to
discipline is to protect the “x x x good
name or reputation of the school.”
Issue No. 2…

Extent of School
Authority to Discipline
Extent of School Authority to Discipline

How far does the school’s

authority to maintain school
discipline among its community
members, particularly its
students, extend?
ANSWER:

It is undisputed that the school can

discipline its community members within
the school campus during class hours.

Whether that authority applies even

outside of the school premises and class
hours, the Supreme Court said—
 “xxx It is the better view that there are
instances when the school might be called
upon to exercise its power over its students
xxx for acts committed outside the school and
beyond school hours in the following:
a) In cases of violations of school policies or
regulations occurring in connection with a
school-sponsored activity off-campus;

b) In case where the misconduct of the

student involves his status as a student or
affects the good name or reputation of
the school.”
 Therefore when students misbehave
outside the campus and the misconduct
complained of directly affects the
offender’s status as a suitable member of
that community, there is no reason why
schools may not impose disciplinary
sanctions on him.
 DO

In imposing SANCTIONS
Parental Authority to Discipline
“As parents, the teachers shall use
discipline not to punish but to correct, not
to force, but to motivate; and not to obey
with rigid cadence, but to choose to follow
the right way.
Hence, teachers cannot generally use
methods of punishing or such degree of
penalties that a good mother or a good
father would not likely use on her/his own
children.”
As a PARENT: Principal Duty to Exercise
Parental Authority and Responsibility

Article 218, Family Code provides—

“The school, its administrators and
teachers xxx engaged in child care
shall have special parental authority
and responsibility over the minor child
while under their supervision,
instruction or custody.”
Code of Ethics states—
“The schools are the nurseries of the
citizens of the State. Each teacher is a
trustee of the culture and educational
heritage of the nation and is under obligation
to transmit to learners such heritage as well
as to elevate national morality, promote
national pride, cultivate love of country, instill
allegiance to the Constitution and respect for
all duly constituted authorities, and promote
obedience to the laws of the State.”
(Article II, Section 1)
 “A teacher shall recognize that the
interest and welfare of learners are his
first and foremost concern, and shall
handle each learner justly and
impartially.”
(Article VII, Section 2)
 DON’T

As parents, teachers are

strictly prohibited from
committing the following
acts/omission or conduct.
Basic Prohibition in Imposing Sanctions

“No cruel or physically

harmful punishment shall be
imposed or applied x x x.”
Corporal Punishment (Article 233, 2nd par.)
“In no case x x x inflict
corporal punishment upon
the child.”
Definition: An act that inflict pain or harm
upon a child’s body as punishment for
wrong doing usually through beating and
spanking
Elements:
(a) physical contact
(b) to inflict pain
 VIII, 8. A teacher shall
not inflict corporal
punishment on offending
learners nor make
deductions from their
scholastic ratings as a
punishment for acts
which are clearly not
manifestations of poor
scholarship.
Sale of Tickets; Collection of Contribution/
Donations from Pupils / Parents

BP 232, Sec. 9 (9) - students have right

to be free from (voluntary) involuntary
contributions

 Improper or unauthorized
solicitation of contributions
from subordinate employees
and by teachers or school
officials from school children
In computing the grades…

Section 16 (5) of BP 232 mandates

that a teacher shall—

“Refrain from making

deductions or additions in
student’s scholastic ratings for
acts that are clearly not
manifestations of xxx scholarship.”
Hence, Section 79 of the MRPS—
“Basis for Grading. – The xxx grade
or rating xxx in a student should be
based SOLELY on his scholastic
performance. Any addition or
diminution to the grade in a subject for
co-curricular activities, attendance, or
misconduct shall NOT be allowed xxx.”
Code of Ethics provides—

“A teacher shall not xxx make

deductions from their scholastic
ratings as a punishment for acts which
are clearly not manifestations of poor
scholarship.”
(Article VIII, Section 8)
Child Abuse

• is maltreatment, whether habitual

or NOT, of child which includes any
of the following:

1) Psychological and physical

abuse, neglect, cruelty, sexual
abuse and emotional
maltreatment;
2) Any act by deeds or words which
debases, degrades or demeans the
intrinsic worth and dignity of child as
a human being;
3) Unreasonable deprivation of his
basic needs for survival, such as
food and shelter; or
4) Failure to immediately give medical
treatment to an injured child
resulting in serious impairment of
his growth and development or his
permanent incapacity or death.
When is Punishment for Children
Misconduct, Abusive, Cruel, etc.

Answer: One that a good/responsible father

or mother will never use on their own child
or those that are prohibited by law

Reason: Special Parental Authority/

Responsibility required of schools by
Article 218 of Family Code
Defamation/Libel

Three (3) common circumstances in

which schools might defame students
or their parents in the normal course of
their duties—

1. While making derogatory verbal

comments to other teachers,
administrators, students or others
2. Recording derogatory references
that might be consulted by other
schools or employers

3. Placing derogatory written

statements in a student’s report
card or cumulative record
 DON’T
Solution to Avoid Possible Liability

Do NOT characterize the student’s or

parent’s action (Not adjective)

BUT…

to present an illustration of behavior

actually encountered. (Facts)
ADVISE: AVOID descriptors and
characterization in favor of brief
factual statements of behavior and
the circumstances surrounding it
 DO

SEVEN CRITERIA may be used

to help insure that anecdotal
information entered in student’s
record satisfies the legal and
professional requirements—
Seven (7) Criteria to Ensure
Anecdotal Information

1) Descriptive;
2) Verified;
3) Interpretation limited to
professional skills;
4) Complete;
5) Useful;
6) Objective;
7) Dated and signed
 DO
DUTY OF TEACHERS (Based on Law)
As an EDUCATOR
1987 Constitution states:
“xxx The State shall protect and
promote the right of all citizens to quality
education at all levels and shall take
appropriate steps to make such
education accessible to all.”
(Article XIV, Section 1)
Principal Duty or Obligation is to Ensure
“Quality Education”
What is QUALITY EDUCATION?
“x x x making sure that basic education is
really solid, because if it is not solid, it affects
the quality of secondary education. If
secondary education is poor, then the person
goes to college unprepared for college work.
And if he is allowed to graduate again with a
poor quality college education, he goes to
university professional education even more
unprepared.” - Rev. Fr. Joaquin Bernas, SJ
In short—
“A school, before promoting or
graduating a student, must be sure that
he/she (the student) is functionally
literate to go through next higher level.”
To ensure Quality Education:
1) Must be COMPETENT and EFFICIENT

Code of Ethics for Professional Teachers,

Article IV, Section 2—
“Every teacher shall uphold the
highest possible standards of quality
education, shall make the best
preparation for the career of teaching,
and shall be at his best at all times in
the practice of his profession.”
In short—
A teacher is expected to be
efficient and competent in the
performance of his academic
duties at all times.

Otherwise,
 DON’T
A teacher who has consistently shown
his inability to efficiently perform his duties
and responsibilities, within a common
performance standards should not be
allowed to stay in school x x x.
The MRPS provides as just cause of
terminating a faculty—
“Gross inefficiency and
incompetence in the performance
of his duties x x x.”
(Section 3 (a))
Hence, the Supreme Court held in Evelyn
Peña vs. NLRC that—

“x x x schools can
set high standards of
efficiency for its
teachers since quality
education is a mandate
of the Constitution xxx
security of tenure xxx
cannot be used to
shield incompetence.”
 DO
Must Evaluate Learners

Code of Ethics, Article III, Section 6—

“A teacher shall base the
evaluation of the learner’s work on
merit and quality of academic
performance.”
 DON’T
In Computing the Grades…

Section 16 (5) of BP 232 mandates

that a teacher shall—
“Refrain from making deductions
or additions in student’s scholastic
ratings for acts that are clearly not
manifestations of xxx scholarship.”
 DO
Hence, Section 79 of the MRPS—
“Basis for Grading. – The xxx grade
or rating xxx in a student should be
based SOLELY on his scholastic
performance. Any addition or
diminution to the grade in a subject for
co-curricular activities, attendance, or
misconduct shall NOT be allowed xxx.”
 DON’T
“Under no circumstances shall a
teacher be prejudiced nor discriminatory
against any learner.”
(Article VIII, Section 3)

“A teacher shall not accept favors or

gifts from learners, their parents or others
in their behalf in exchange for requested
concessions, especially if undeserved.”
(Article VIII, Section 4)
Code of Ethics provides—
“A teacher shall not xxx make
deductions from their scholastic
ratings as a punishment for acts which
are clearly not manifestations of poor
scholarship.”
(Article VIII, Section 8)
 Thus, it is not a matter of discretion on
the part of the teachers in the giving of the
students’ grades, but rather it is a clear
obligation for the teachers to determine
student academic marks solely based on
scholastic performance. For a teacher to
do otherwise, would be serious academic
malpractice or grave misconduct in the
performance of his/her duties.
 In Padilla vs. NLRC, SBC, the Supreme
Court said—

“This Court is convinced that the

pressure and influence exerted by (a
teacher) on his colleague to change
a failing grade to passing one xxx
constitute serious misconduct which
is a valid ground for dismissing an
employee.”
 DO
Give Grades to Students/Parents

Section 16(3) of BP 232, TEACHER SHALL—

“Render regular reports on
performance of each student and to the
latter and to the latter’s parents and
guardians with specific suggestions for
improvement.”
and...
 Must promptly render or give
grades. Otherwise, the unjustified or
unreasonable delay in giving grades
constitutes gross neglect of duty…

Because—

x x x students have the right—

 Section 9 (4) – “The right to
access to school records xxx.”
-AND-
Section 9 (5) – “xxx issuance of
(school records) within 30 days
from request.”
 DON’T
In the recent case of University of the East vs.
Romeo A. Jader, the Supreme Court, in no
uncertain terms, declared—
“The court takes judicial notice of the
traditional practice in educational institutions
wherein (teacher) directly furnishes x x x
students their grades. It is the contractual
obligation of the school (through the
teachers) to TIMELY INFORM AND
FURNISH sufficient notice and information
to each and every student x x x.”
 “x x x The negligent
act of a (teacher) who
fails to observe the
rules of the school, for
instance, by not
promptly submitting a
student’s grade is not
only imputable to the
teacher but is an act of
the school being his/her
employer x x x.”
 DO
As a PARENT: Principal Duty to Exercise
Parental Authority and Responsibility

Article 218, Family Code provides—

“The school, its administrators and
teachers xxx engaged in child care
shall have special parental authority
and responsibility over the minor child
while under their supervision,
instruction or custody.”
Parental Responsibility…
The student / pupil while in school, is in
the custody and hence, the responsibility
of the school authorities as long as he is
under the control and influence of
the school, whether the semester
has not yet begun
or has already ended.
 In Amadora vs. CA, the Supreme
Court said—
Even if the student is just relaxing
in the campus in the company of his
classmates, x x x the student is still
within the custody and subject to the
discipline and responsibility of the
teachers x x x.
 DON’T
Hence—
A teacher required to exercise
special parental authority but who
fails to observe all the diligence of a
good father of a family in the custody
and care of the pupils and students,
shall be held liable for gross neglect
of duty.
-END-