Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region III
Division of Bulacan
STA. CRUZ HIGH SCHOOL
Sta. Cruz, Santa Maria, Bulacan

CHILD PROTECTION COMMITTEE POLICY AND GUIDELINES

RATIONALE

The school supports and adopts the zero tolerance policy of the Department of Education
against any act of child abuse, exploitation, violence, discrimination, bullying and other forms of
abuse.

PRINCIPLES

The school aims to inculcate patriotism and nationalism, foster love of humanity, respect for
human rights, appreciation of the role of national heroes in the historical development of the country,
teach the rights and duties of citizenship, strengthen ethical and spiritual values, develop moral
character and personal discipline, encourage critical and creative thinking, broaden scientific and
technological knowledge, and promote vocational efficiency. To this end, it shall:

1. Ensure that the institution remains an environment conducive to learning wherein

children shall have the right to education free from fear.

2. Ensure that all children shall be protected from all forms of abuse and bullying to
develop self-esteem and self-confidence.

3. Advocate a positive and non-violent mode of disciplining children to foster self-discipline

and to improve self-esteem.

4. Take steps to prevent bullying and ensure that the appropriate interventions,
counseling, and other services are provided for the victims of abuse, violence,
exploitation, discrimination and bullying.

5. Inculcate unto all students respect to the rights of others and refrain from committing
acts of bullying and peer violence.

6. Encourage involvement of parents in all school activities or events that raise awareness
on children’s rights, positive discipline, and the prevention of bullying; AND

7. Orient visitors and guests on the child protection policy.

DEFINITIONS

"Violence against children committed in schools" refers to a single act or a series of acts
committed by school administrators and/ or personnel against a child, which result in or is likely to
result in physical, sexual, psychological harm or suffering, or other abuses including threats of such
acts, battery, assault, coercion, harassment or arbitrary deprivation of liberty. It includes, but is not
limited to, the following acts:

1. Physical violence refers to acts that inflict bodily or physical harm. It includes assigning
children to perform tasks which are hazardous to their physical well-being.

2. Sexual violence refers to acts that are sexual in nature. It includes, but is not limited to:

a) rape, sexual harassment, acts of lasciviousness, making demeaning and

sexually suggestive remarks, physically attacking the sexual parts of the
victim's body;

b) forcing the child to watch obscene publications and indecent shows or

forcing the child to do indecent sexual acts and/or to engage or be
involved in, the creation or distribution of such films, indecent publication
or material; and

c) acts causing or attempting to cause the child to engage in any sexual

activity by force, threat of force, physical or other harm or threat of
physical or other harm or coercion, or through inducements, gifts or
favors.

3. Psychological violence refers to acts or omissions causing or likely to cause mental or

emotional suffering of the child, such as but not limited to intimidation, harassment,
stalking, damage to property, public ridicule or humiliation, deduction or threat of
deduction from grade or merit as a form of punishment, and repeated verbal abuse.

4. Other acts of violence of a physical, sexual or psychological nature that are prejudicial
to the best interest of the child.

"Bullying" refers to willful aggressive behavior that is directed, towards a particular victim who
may be out-numbered, younger, weak, with disability, less confident, or otherwise vulnerable. It is
committed when a student commits an act or a series of acts directed towards another student, or a
series of single acts directed towards several students in a school setting or a place of learning, which
results in physical and mental abuse, harassment, intimidation, or humiliation. Such acts may consist
of any one or more of the following:

1. Threats to inflict a wrong upon the person, honor or property of the person or on his or
her family.

2. Stalking or constantly following or pursuing a person in his or her daily activities, with
unwanted and obsessive attention.

3. Taking of property.

4. Public humiliation, or public and malicious imputation of a crime or of a vice or defect,

whether real or imaginary, or any act, omission, condition, status, or circumstance
tending to cause dishonor, discredit or expose a person to contempt.

5. Deliberate destruction or defacement of, or damage to the child's property.

6. Physical violence committed upon a student, which may or may not result to harm or
injury, with or without the aid of a weapon. Such violence may be in the form of mauling,
 hitting, punching, kicking, throwing things at the student, pinching, spanking, or other
similar acts.

7. Demanding or requiring sexual or monetary favors, or exacting money or property, from

a pupil or student.

8. Restraining the liberty and freedom of a pupil or student.

“Cyber-bullying” is any conduct defined in the preceding paragraph, as resulting in

harassment, intimidation, or humiliation, through electronic means or other technology, such as, but
not limited to texting, email, instant messaging, chatting, internet, social networking websites or other
platforms or formats.

"Other acts of abuse by a student” refers to other serious acts of abuse committed by a
pupil, student or learner upon another pupil, student or learner of the same school, not falling under
the definition of `bullying' in the preceding provisions, including but not limited to acts of a physical,
sexual or psychological nature.

DUTIES OF SCHOOL PERSONNEL

School administrators, teachers, and other personnel exercise special parental authority and
responsibility over the child while under their supervision, instruction and custody. Authority and
responsibility shall apply to all authorized activities whether inside or outside the premises of the
school, entity or institution. To this end, they shall -

1. Keep students in their company and support, educate and instruct them by right precept
and good example.

2. Give them love and affection, advice and counsel, companionship and understanding.

3. Enhance, protect, preserve and maintain their physical and mental health at all times.

4. Furnish them with good and wholesome educational materials, supervise their activities,
recreation and association with others, protect them from bad company and prevent
them from acquiring habits detrimental to their health, studies and morals.

5. Represent them in all matters affecting their interests.

6. Inculcate the value of respect and obedience.

7. Practice positive and non-violent discipline, as may be required under the

circumstances; provided, that in no case shall corporal punishment be inflicted upon
them.

8. Perform such other duties as are imposed by law upon them, as substitute parents or
guardians.

DUTIES OF STUDENTS

Students shall have the following duties and responsibilities—

 1. Comply with the school's regulations, as long as they are in harmony with their best
interests. Pupils, students and learners shall refrain from:

a) Engaging in discrimination, or leading a group of pupils or students to

discriminate another, with reference to one's physical appearance, weaknesses
and status of any sort.

b) Doing any act that is inappropriate or sexually provocative.

c) Participating in behavior of other students that is illegal, unsafe or abusive.

d) Marking or damaging school property, including books, in any way.

e) Engaging in fights or any aggressive behavior.

f) Introducing into the school premises or otherwise possessing prohibited articles,

such as deadly weapons, drugs, alcohol, toxic and noxious substances,
cigarettes and pornographic material.

g) Performing other similar acts that cause damage or injury to another.

An allegation that any of these acts has been committed shall not be used to
curtail the child's basic rights, or interpreted to defeat the objectives of this
Department Order.

2. Conduct themselves in accordance with their levels of development, maturity, and

demonstrated capabilities, with a proper regard for the rights and welfare of other
persons.

3. Respect another person's rights regardless of opinion, status, gender, ethnicity, religion,
as well as everyone's moral and physical integrity.

4. Observe the Code of Conduct for pupils, students and learners.

ESTABLISHMENT OF CHILD PROTECTION COMMITTEE (CPC)

The CPC shall perform the following functions:

1. Initiate information dissemination programs and organize activities for the protection of
children from abuse, exploitation, violence, discrimination and bullying or peer abuse.

2. Develop and implement a school-based referral and monitoring system.

3. Establish a system for identifying students who may be suffering from significant harm
based on any physical, emotional or behavioral signs.

4. Identify, refer and, if appropriate, report to the appropriate offices cases involving child
abuse, exploitation, violence, discrimination and bullying.

5. Give assistance to parents or guardians, whenever necessary in securing expert

guidance counseling from the appropriate offices or institutions.
 6. Coordinate closely with the Women and Child Protection Desks of the Philippine
National Police (PNP), the Local Social Welfare and Development Office (LSWDO),
other government agencies, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as may be
appropriate.

7. Monitor the implementation of positive measures and effective procedures in providing

the necessary support for the child and for those who care for the child.

8. Ensure that the children's right to be heard are respected and upheld in all matters and
procedures affecting their welfare.

PROCEDURES IN HANDLING BULLYING INCIDENTS

A complaint for bullying or peer abuse shall be acted upon by the School Principal in accordance with
the following procedure:

1. Upon the filing of a complaint or upon notice of any bullying or peer abuse incident, the
parents or guardian of the victim and the offending child shall be called and informed in
a meeting called for that purpose. Both the victim and the offending child shall be
referred to the Child Protection Committee for counseling and other interventions.

2. If bullying is committed for a second or subsequent time, after the offending child has
received counseling or other interventions, the penalty of suspension for not more than
one (1) week may be imposed by the School Head, if such is warranted. During the
period of suspension, the offending child and the parents or guardians may be required
to attend further seminars and counseling. The School Head shall likewise ensure that
the appropriate interventions, counseling and other services, are provided for the victim
or victims of bullying.

3. In all cases where the imposable penalty on the offending child is suspension, exclusion
or expulsion, the following minimum requirements of due process shall be complied with:

a) The child and the parents or guardians must be informed of the complaint in
writing.

b) The child shall be given the opportunity to answer the complaint in writing, with
the assistance of the parents or guardian.

c) The decision must be in writing, stating the facts and the reasons for the
decision.

OTHER ACTS OF VIOLENCE OR ABUSE

The conduct of investigation and reporting of cases of child abuse, exploitation, violence or
discrimination, shall be done expeditiously, as herein provided.

A complaint for child abuse, violence, exploitation or discrimination shall be filed with the
School Principal and shall be acted upon pursuant to the school's rules of procedures on
administrative cases. The penalty shall be that which is provided by the rules of the school, subject to
the requirements of due process.
 The administrative case shall be without prejudice to any civil or criminal case that may be
filed.

REFERRAL AND COUNSELING

Aside from imposing a disciplinary measure commensurate to the action of the student, a
necessary counseling shall be accorded to the students since the school’s purpose is not to convict
the students but to assist him/her to realize his/her misbehavior. The parent or guardian may be
invited to take part in counseling process or session if necessary, depending on the determination or
discretion of the Guidance Counselor.

After the series of sessions, follow-ups shall be done by the Guidance Office to monitor the
improvement happens towards the behavior of the child. Consistent communication and coordination
by the Guidance Counselor with the adviser and parent shall also be made to get feedback based on
the result of observation about the child’s behavior.

THE SOCIAL MEDIA AND ONLINE CHILD SAFEGUARDING GUIDELINES

Rationale

 Pursuant to the 1987 Constitution, the State shall defend the right of children to assistance,
including proper care and nutrition, and special protection from all forms of neglect, abuse,
cruelty, exploitation, and other conditions prejudicial to their development (Article XV, Section 3
[2]).

 Upholding the right of the child to special protection and reiterating its policy of zero tolerance for
any act of abuse and violence against the child, the Department issued DepEd Order No. 40, s.
2012 DepEd Child Protection Policy.

 Early studies indicate that children in the Philippines were already facing several child online
protection issues. Based on the study done by Stairway Foundation in 2012, it was found that 5
out of 10 in the 10-17 year old age range has been exposed to online pornography, 3 out of 10
were asked to be naked online, and 2 out of 10 had tried meeting someone personally even if they
only knew the person online.8

 Based on the 2015 National Baseline Study on Violence Against Children conducted by the
Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), about 43.8% of the respondents aged 13- 18 years old
have experienced cyber violence. One-third of the types of cyber violence were in the form of
verbal abuse over the internet or cellphone and one-fourth were sent sexual messages.

 The UNICEF research on “Perils and Possibilities: Growing up online” indicates that “eight out of
10 Filipino children are at risk of being victims of sexual abuse or bullying online” 9

 Based on the 2020 IJM OSEC Research, the estimated number/prevalence rate of IP addresses
used for CSE each year more than tripled between 2014 and 2017, from around 23,333 in 2014 to
81,723 in 2017.10

 Online interaction, use of ICT in learning, ensure protection of stakeholders, provide mechanism
to address these concerns, prevent the occurrence of abuse
  The issuance of this policy shall ensure that the Department of Education remain responsive to
its commitment to protect the safety of learner amidst the fast changing landscape of children’s
environment, which includes the online world.

Scope

 This policy lays down the behavioral and procedural protocols to ensure that school personnel
and learners create a safe environment whether offline or online.
 The policy covers all school personnel, learners and other stakeholders involved in the school
learning continuity plan.

Definition of Terms

For these guidelines, the following terms are defined and understood as follows:

 Child Protection refers to programs, services, procedures, and structures that are intended to
prevent and respond to abuse, neglect, exploitation, discrimination, and violence

 Child Safeguarding is the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and protect
them from harm.

Safeguarding includes:

 protecting children from abuse and maltreatment

 preventing harm to children’s health or development
 ensuring children grow up with the provision of safe and effective care
 taking action to enable all children and young people to have the best outcomes.

Child protection is part of the safeguarding process. It focuses on protecting individual children
identified as suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. This includes child protection
procedures which detail how to respond to concerns about a child. 11

 Child Online Protection (COP) refers to creating a safe and empowering online experience
for children.12

 Cyberbullying refers to any bullying done through the use of technology or any electronic
means

 Online Child Safeguarding is employing child safeguarding measures in the online

environment.

 Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) – is the sexual abuse and
exploitation of children facilitated through technology and/or the internet.

 Social media refers to forms of electronic communication through which users create online
communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (Merriam
Webster online dictionary)
Policy Statement

The Department reiterates its zero tolerance policy for any act of child abuse, exploitation,
violence, discrimination, bullying, and other forms of abuse. Consistent with this policy, this Online
Child Safeguarding Guidelines is hereby promulgated to ensure that the Department, in all
governance levels, upholds these principles.

 Online Child Safeguarding Protocols

A. ICT and Social Media Child Safeguarding Guidelines

This section provides safeguarding guidelines on the usage of social media as a platform of
communication with learners and as means of dissemination of information.

Employee to learner interaction through social media

 To mutually protect learners and school personnel from any potential abuse, school
personnel are prohibited from directly communicating with learners through phone
call, SMS, e-mail, and social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter or similar forms,
except when the learner is already of legal age and no longer a student of the teacher.
If there is a need to communicate with learners in confidentiality, then this should be
done in person following the prescribed protocols under DepEd order no. 40, series of
2012, or via online communication employing the proper safeguards of ensuring the
presence of a member of the school CPC, preferably, the school guidance counselor.

 Learners are expected to respect school personnel’s online privacy by avoiding direct
online communication unless this is a matter of personal safety.

 All announcements or information relating to school activities, class suspension, and

other public information concerning learners should be coursed through the parents or
guardians to ensure transparency.

 School personnel must observe professionalism and due diligence in their dealings
with learners. As such, they should not accept any social media friend requests from
their learners who are of minor age, except when the learner is a relative.

 For school personnel who are already friends with learners, it is advised that they
unfriend these learners or modify their social media privacy settings to ensure that the
learners have restricted access to the teacher profile.

 To maximize the use of ICT in communications, instead of using instant messaging

applications, moderated social media groups shall shall be utilized. (see section on
moderated social media groups)
  Sharing of learner’s images online – to further protect learners privacy, school
personnel are highly discouraged to share learners images online via their personal
social media accounts, unless consent is secured from the learners and learner’s
guardians. Even if consent is secured, school personnel shall ensure that learners
images are safe for posting, and are not posted publicly.

Employee role modeling in social media

Teachers are encouraged to verify the truthfulness of information by checking credible

sources and official statements from official channels such as the DepEd website or official
social media page.

Teachers and other school personnel are viewed with respect by the learners, parents, and
community. As such, they must refrain from posting in their social media accounts the
following:

 The posting or sharing of inappropriate, immoral, or offensive pictures, videos, or

articles which may discriminate against any person, agency, religion, sect, race, or
gender

 Any undue or inappropriate posts, such as, but not limited to, depiction of them
drinking/ smoking, and wearing inappropriate outfit that may be taken out of context.
Teachers are encouraged to use the appropriate privacy tools to limit the people who
can see their posts for safety purposes.

 Posting of personal attacks, libelous criticisms, distorted or defamatory information

against any person or entity, lewd pictures, sex videos or scandals, and other similar
posts.

 The use of vulgar or foul language.

 The posting of confidential information obtained by reason of his/her public position.

Code of Conduct for Learners

 Learners are expected to

 Be kind to and treat each other with respect regardless of physical appearance, ethnic,
regional, religious or cultural background, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability or
disability

 Not engage in bullying of any kind and report any such incidences to any school
personnel if they become aware of it

 Not harass or verbally harm other students and personnel of the school, via the use of
cell phones or any social networks (which includes written or visual material or
behavior that is unwelcome, offensive or hurtful, or expresses hostility or threats
against others, or ridicules, humiliates or intimidates them).
 Be respectful in their online engagements.
  Protect their and other people's personal information online.

 Only share verified information.

 Report any behavior or experience that makes them feel uncomfortable or unsafe.

Moderated Social Media Groups Guidelines:

The following guidelines must be observed when using Moderated Social Media Groups for class
announcements and submission of outputs:

 Instant messaging applications shall not be used, but instead, moderated social media
groups (e.g. Instead of Facebook Messenger, Facebook Groups should be used)

 The use of Moderated Social Media Groups shall be applicable to Junior and Senior High
School learners in accordance with common social media platform’s policy in terms of age
usage (13 and above).

 The teacher shall inform the principal and the guidance counselor of his/her intention of
creating a moderated social media group for his/her class.

 All moderated school social media groups shall always have 2 school personnel
moderators in place – 1. the teacher/adviser and 2. the guidance counselor or grade level
chairperson or coordinator.

 Under no circumstances shall the guidance counselor/guidance teacher/grade level

coordinator be removed from the class social media group.

 The guidance counselor/guidance teacher/grade level coordinator shall also be given

“Admin” functions in the moderated social media group, but interaction shall be limited only
to observation tasks to ensure that abuse is not being committed within the group, whether
school personnel to learner, or learner to learner.

 Learners within the class may also be assigned as group moderators.

 The moderated social media group should not hinder learner’s access to information and
class announcements and as such, the class adviser shall find ways to relay information to
learners who would not have access to such channels/ technologies.

 For Grades 1 to 6, teachers shall employ either messenger group chats or Facebook
groups with the parents of the learners.

Management of social media presence of Regional Offices, Schools Division Offices, and
Schools
  The school shall ensure that it follows the social media platform’s policies on creation of
“organizational social media pages” (e.g. For Facebook, organizations should create a
social media PAGE, instead of an individual social media account bearing the name of the
school)

 The format for a school social media page shall include the School’s complete and official
name, school ID number, as well as Standard Code of the Schools Division Office

 To maintain the security and integrity of any social media page, the School, Information
Technology Officer/Coordinator or a designated social media manager shall maintain the
page and ensure the use of the necessary privacy and security functionalities such as the
use of two (2) factor authentication, etc.

 A maximum of three (3) administrator/s or social media manager/s shall be appointed by

the Head of Office to facilitate the flow of information in the social media page or group.

 Administrator/s or Social Media Manager/s must be aware of basic social media etiquette
in relation to the Code of Conduct of Government Officers when dealing with stakeholders
through social media. Utmost professionality is expected when replying to posts or
messages to the school page.

 Administrator/s or Social Media Manager/s shall not be allowed to delete any messages in
the social media page unless directed by the Head of Office or the latter’s authorized
representative.

 Administrator/s or Social Media Manager/s should ensure the privacy and security of any
person that forwards any private message and relay the same to the Head of Office.

 Only official announcements/statements, news, verified information, and other authorized

information from the School, Division, Regional, or Central Office of the Department, or
from other government agencies are allowed to be posted in the said page.

 Images of learners to be shared in social media shall also follow securing of consent from
learners and their guardians, as well as ensuring that images of learners are child safe.

 The sharing of unofficial information, templates, and other resources, as well as

advertising of any merchandise or services shall not be allowed in the social media page. .

 In cases where the official social media page of the school, division, or region receives a
child protection concern report, either via private message or comment, the page
administrators shall ensure that the report shall be preserved (no deletion, only screenshot
and hide comment), and shall be properly forwarded to the school’s child protection
committee within 24 hours upon receipt of the report.

Use of ICT in Learning Delivery

With the adoption of multi-modal learning delivery under the DepEd Learning Continuity Plan,
which includes the use of online platforms, child safeguarding shall be ensured in this context.

 Asynchronous learning via the DepEd Commons, Television and Radio. Child
Safe Content - All learning resources to be uploaded to the DepEd Commons
platform or broadcasted via Television or Radio, shall be ensured to be age
 appropriate, and shall not depict violence, discrimination, gender stereotyping
and sexualized/pornographic content.

 Synchronous learning via online video conferencing platforms

Online Behavioral protocols - Teaching personnel are expected to behave in a
professional and child safe manner when interacting with their learners online.
This includes ensuring that;
 No form of verbal or emotional abuse is directed towards learners in the
conduct of online classes.
 Learners also practice respectful and safe online engagement towards
their co-learners and to their teachers during the online classes.
 That communication used shall not contain any foul language,
discriminatory terms or those which are sexualized/with sexual
innuendos.
 The behavioral guidelines under the Employee to Learner Interaction
via Social Media shall also apply in this context.
 Teachers shall also be conscious with their live webcam feeds to
ensure that what is broadcasted, is appropriate and child safe.

Child Safe Content - All learning resources to be used in the conduct of online
synchronous learning sessions, shall be ensured to be age appropriate, doesn’t
depict violence, is not discriminatory, doesn’t employ gender stereotyping and
doesn’t sexualized/pornographic material. This applies to both pre-made
content and live images (such as live video feeds).

 Resumption of face to face classes

Once face to face classes resume, the school shall ensure that filtering
software for school computer laboratories, school office computers/laptops, as
well as internet routers, shall be installed which blocks access to pornographic
and graphic content.

References:
https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/DO_s2020_012.pdf
https://www.unicef.org/philippines/sites/unicef.org.philippines/files/2019-02/phl-nbsvac-resultssummary.pdf
https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/safeguarding-child-protection
https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/DO_s2012_40.pdf
https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/DO_s2013_55.pdf
https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/DO_s2015_18.pdf
Online Risks Filipino Children Face Today
https://technology.inquirer.net/48286/8-in-10-filipino-children-at-risk-of-online-sexual-abuse-unicef
https://www.ijm.org/documents/Final_OSEC-Public-Summary_05_20_2020.pdf
https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/safeguarding-child-protection
https://www.itu.int/en/cop/Pages/about_cop.aspx
www.cybersafe.asia
www.stairwayfoundation.org
PREPARED BY:

CHILD PROTECTION COMMITTEE

CHAIRPERSON

MICHAEL C. SAMSON
Head Teacher I/ Officer In- charge

VICE CHAIRPERSON

DAISEREE DR. SALVADOR

Designated Guidance Teacher

MEMBERS

CHRISTIANNE S. MENDOZA
President, Faculty Club

JANINE C. DE GUZMAN
President, Parents-Teachers Association
CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL THADDEUS R. BUENAFE
President, Supreme Student Government

MARIO G. MARIANO
Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC)

Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region III
Division of Bulacan
STA. CRUZ HIGH SCHOOL
Sta. Cruz, Santa Maria, Bulacan