Maltreatment is child abuse

Pursuant to Republic Act (RA) 7610, inflicting physical injuries on a minor child to maltreat or malign him/her in a manner that would debase, demean or degrade his/her dignity constitutes child abuse with a heavier penalty than the crime of physical injuries under the Revised Penal Code. In this case, the accused involved is a school teacher who punishes one of her pupils. So the issue resolved here is whether the teacher, who has disciplinary authority, can be held liable of child abuse under RA 7610.

Mila is an elementary school teacher. One morning before her class started, Mila was resting and sleeping on a bamboo sofa inside her classroom when one of her pupils, Bruno, hurriedly entered the classroom and accidentally bumped Mila’s knee. Roused from her sleep, Mila asked Bruno to apologize to her. But Bruno did not obey and just proceeded to his seat. So Mila went to Bruno and pinched him on the thigh. Then she proceeded to pick up Bruno by his armpits and pushed him to the floor. As Bruno fell, his body hit a desk, causing him to lose consciousness. But Mila still proceeded to pick him up by his ears and repeatedly slammed him down on the floor, until Bruno cried.

After the incident, Mila started to teach her class. During lunch break, two of his classmates, Lina and Nina, helped bring Bruno home, still crying, and told his mother about the incident. His mother and aunt thus brought him to the barangay captain, who advised them to have Bruno examined by a doctor. Bruno’s aunt and a barangay councilman brought him to a hospital, where he was examined by Dra. Cristy. They likewise reported the incident to the police station.

The medical certificate issued by Dra. Cristy showed that Bruno had (1) discoloration of the skin and tenderness of the ears caused by pinching; (2) lumbar pains and tenderness caused by contact with a hard object; (3) contusions at the inner left thigh caused by pinching with pressure and (4) tenderness and pain in the upper left thigh which caused Bruno to limp as he walked.

Mila was criminally charged with child abuse in the Regional Trial Court of their province. At the trial Bruno and the doctor testified for the prosecution, while Mila testified for and in her behalf and claimed that she did not deliberately inflict the physical injuries suffered by Bruno to maltreat or malign him but only as a disciplinary act that, as a school teacher, she could reasonably do for the development of a child like Bruno.

But the RTC convicted Mila of child abuse under RA 7610 Section 10 (a), Article VI and sentenced her to imprisonment of four years, two months and one day as minimum to six years and one day as maximum. This ruling was affirmed by the Court of Appeals with the modification of the maximum sentence to ten years and one day.

Mila appealed to the Supreme Court, contending that her maltreatment of Bruno was an act of discipline which she, as a school teacher, could reasonably do for the development of the child. She insisted that her act was done as a substitute parent in the school.

The Supreme Court said that although as a teacher she could duly discipline Bruno her student, her infliction of physical injuries on him was unnecessary, violent and excessive. Bruno even fainted. She could not justifiably claim that it was only an act of disciplining the boy. Such maltreatment is precisely prohibited by the Family Code, expressly banning corporal punishment by a person exercising substitute parental authority (Article 233).

The severe results of her punishment are shown by the medical report of the doctor who examined Bruno. They clearly prove that Mila’s maltreatment debases, degrades and demeans the intrinsic worth and dignity of Bruno as a human being and therefore constitute child abuse under Section 3 (b) (2) of RA 7610.

In fact, Mila had also been previously convicted of maltreatment of another child, which clearly shows that Mila really has a propensity for violence (Rosaldes vs. People, G.R. 173988, Oct. 8, 2014).