Free legal aid: Great morale for teachers

KUDOS thanks Education Secretary Sonny Angara for leading the Department of Education to partner with the Integrated Bar Association of the Philippines (IBP) to provide free legal aid and support to public school teachers and administrative staff. This is in line with the right to free legal services guaranteed by the Education Law or Batas Pambansa Bilang 232 to public school personnel accused in an administrative, civil or criminal investigation by parties other than the ministry itself for acts committed directly within the Ministry. lawful performance of professional duties or advocacy of school policies. The importance of the role of teachers in students’ lives cannot be ignored and hence there is a need to protect it. In fact, teachers and school staff are considered legally competent persons when carrying out their legal duties and responsibilities and should therefore be given due respect and protection. Any person or persons who uses force or intimidation or assaults or seriously intimidates school personnel in the performance of official duties or in the execution of such performance shall be liable for the crime of direct assault under the Revised Penal Code. This is the case in People v. Supreme Court, where the Supreme Court ruled that teachers, as authorized persons, are a legal issue, not a de facto issue, and therefore ignorance on this issue cannot eliminate the crime of direct assault. Balbar became stronger in his case. That’s how important teachers are!

Legal aid available to nearly 800,000 public school teachers would greatly boost their morale, especially in situations where the promotion of child protection has been unnecessarily weaponized by some parents against helpless public schools in more than a few cases of baseless accusations of child abuse. Teachers whose role in child discipline is not always popular. Certainly, IBP’s legal assistance will create greater awareness for both teachers and parents of the extent of their authority over the discipline of child learners in loco parentis, as well as the limitations and culpability under various laws.

Teachers also need legal assistance and protection while exercising their academic freedom. Individual academic freedom of teachers is defined by jurisprudence as the right asserted by the accredited educator, as teacher and researcher, to interpret their findings and communicate their conclusions without being subject to any undue interference, harassment or punishment; because these results are unacceptable. Some authorities were established inside or outside the institution. Academic freedom provides the teacher with the widest freedom to innovate and experiment with the method of teaching that best suits his students and is ethical, reasonable and subject to legal limits.

In addition, teachers, like all citizens, are constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression and speech. As the groundbreaking case of Tinker v. Des Moines Community School District reminds us, teachers do not give up their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and expression at the door of the school building. They have the right to freely express their opinions and suggestions and to have access to effective communication channels with the appropriate academic and administrative bodies of the school or institution. They do not waive their fundamental rights as individuals just because they are engaged in the teaching profession. Therefore, IBP legal aid will be able to guide our teachers on the scope and limits of this freedom. For example, as in De la Cruz v. Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court held that the right of public school teachers to peacefully assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances was not within reasonable limits when they organized mass protests during regular school days. Their exposure to unauthorized and unilateral absences and disruption of classes in various schools had negative effects on the students whose education the teachers were responsible for.

IBP’s legal assistance was also timely as teachers prepared for their role in the upcoming elections. While teachers continue to inculcate patriotism and nationalism as per their constitutional duty and teach students the rights and duties of citizenship, they are prohibited by law and appropriate Comelec and civil service rules from engaging in political speeches, election campaigns, and partisan political activities. .

In addition to legal issues at work, many of our public school teachers are struggling with personal problems like loans, land disputes, family troubles, and injustices, but they cannot afford to hire their own attorneys. The legal assistance of IBP lawyers will surely alleviate many of their fears and concerns.

In fact, for institutionalizing IBP’s legal assistance, as well as for his many new initiatives at the Department of Education, Secretary Angara continues to receive praise from the entire education sector, both public and private, for their unanimous choice to lead the education department. After the vice president leaves the office.

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