House probe sought on alleged abuses at PHSA
MANILA, Philippines — In addition to a National Bureau of Investigation probe and a proposed Senate investigation, two House of Representatives committees are being urged to probe the alleged abuses committed by teachers and staff against students at the Philippine High School for the Arts.
The three-member Makabayan bloc in the lower chamber filed a resolution asking the House panels on the welfare of children and on women and gender equality to conduct an investigation on the allegations of sexual, verbal and emotional abuse at the country's premier high school for young artists, which first came to light in a VICE World News report.
“The harrowing and heart-breaking accounts of the victims in PHSA merit a full-blown and impartial investigation, and should lead to the prosecution of all who are implicated in the sexual, verbal and emotional abuse of students,” said Reps. Arlene Brosas (Gabriela party-list), France Castro (ACT Teachers party-list) and Raoul Danniel Manuel (Kabataan party-list).
They said that the allegations against PHSA teachers and staff “prompt serious reflections” on how Republic Act No. 11313 or the Safe Spaces Act — which prohibits gender-based sexual harassment in public spaces, educational or training institutions, workplace and online — is being implemented.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who is poised to lead the women, children, family relations and gender equality panel in the upper chamber, has also sought a similar inquiry on the alleged abuses at PHSA.
Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Investigation has heeded the call of education chief and Vice President Sara Duterte for a probe on the allegations against PHSA teachers and staff and has formed a special team on the matter.
The Department of Education said it and the PHSA administration are “currently reviewing the school’s existing policies and strengthening its internal mechanisms to ensure the safety of the students inside the premises of the institution.”
In a statement last week, the state-run high school said it sympathizes with alumni who complained of abuses, but cautioned against making generations about PHSA as a place of abuse.
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