The Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of Catanduanes last week led a multisectoral effort to train stakeholders on basic child protection, primarily as a strategy to address increasing cases of sex-related offenses committed against children especially those in school.
Held last Aug. 18, 2026, the activity was conducted by the Department of Justice’s prosecution officer in partnership with the Catanduanes State University, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Regional Office V, and Fundacion de Religiosos para la Salud (FRS) represented by Alfonso Nuñez.
Among those who participated in the trainers’ training were members of the local police, guidance counselors, DepEd representatives, lawyers, media practitioners, social workers and law students.
Provincial Prosecutor Mary Jane L. Zantua said the training was aimed at raising awareness of the dangers to students and learners amid the rising number of sexual abuse incidents in schools and at equipping participants with the competencies needed to effectively promote and eventually disseminate child protection officers in their respective areas.
She revealed that since 2022, her office has prosecuted a total of 53 criminal cases of sexual offenses committed against students and learners.
Among the cases were those involving rape, violation of Republic Act 7610 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act, and RA 11313 or the Safe Spaces Act.
Of these cases, 30 have resulted in conviction while 23 are still pending before the local courts, she said.
There is a noticeable trend in sexual offenses targeting children in school, Atty. Zantua said.
“We cannot ignore this trend and we will not wait for complaints to be filed,” she stressed.
One recent incident involves a 38-year-old senior high school teacher from Viga town who was arrested early this month in connection with five counts of violation of Section 10(b) of RA 7160 and 13 counts of sexual abuse under Section 5(b) of the same law.
Last Aug. 3, the teacher was apprehended by operatives of the Virac police station headed by PMaj. Kenneth Ding Gutierrez, together with elements of the Viga police, on the basis of the warrants issued by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 43.
Bail for the temporary release of the accused, who is married with two children, during trial has been set at a total of P2.88 million.
Reliable sources said that the accused cultivated a close relationship with a female student which led to repeated sexual encounters across several months.
Their illicit relationship was discovered when the teacher sent a text message to her at about 9 PM, with the message read by her uncle who was handling the phone at the time.
Instead of the student going to the meeting place, it was her uncle who arrived at the rendezvous and then, armed with a “dos por dos,” allegedly chased the teacher who subsequently fled to Metro Manila.
When the case was filed, the teacher’s wife pleaded with him to come home and surrender to the authorities.
The Viga incident perfectly illustrates the need to spot so-called red flags in relationships between adults and children, as pointed out by CHR V Information Officer I Czarina Mae Cantorne in her presentation.
She described the child-friendly approach as one creating an environment where every child is treated with dignity, protected from harm and discrimination, given age-appropriate information, and encouraged to express views that are taken seriously.
In all programs, activities and projects involving children, all must ensure that the guiding principles under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child are respected and given paramount consideration, she stated.
Among the appropriate or acceptable “Do’s” are: being sensitive to the needs, plights and status of children; involving al children without selection or discrimination on the basis of gender, disability, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation; encouraging and promoting child participation on all matters concerning children; maintaining a professional relationship with children, with any form of sexual relationship or activity with a child considered unacceptable; refraining from doing things that might put children at risk such as smoking, drinking, gambling, inappropriate humor, or public display of affection; using child-appropriate verbal and non-verbal languages; practicing and promoting positive and non-violent discipline on children; and being an advocate for child-safe and child-friendly culture in the family, school, offices and community.
Tagged as inappropriate or unacceptable are: inviting children to stay with a person or at their home; allowing children to render personal service for an adult and associates; unnecessarily giving or receiving gifts from children-clients or their families; going to pubs or any establishment known to engage in the exploitation and abuse of women and children; giving contact details of children-clients just to anybody; using or tolerating others in using children to beg or solicit money; publishing or posting any confidential information or commentaries, contents or images that are offensive, defamatory, or in violation of others’ privacy; cyber bullying, slut shaming and bashing; posting or sharing pornographic materials in the internet; acting or saying anything that could demean or degrade the dignity of a child; suggesting inappropriate behavior or relations of any kind; and initiating physical contact with a child such as holding hands or hugging.
The CHR info officer advised that grooming often begins with attention, gifts, special treatment, secrets, or seemingly harmless remarks.
Participants were told to watch out for red flags or patterns of grooming, such as excessive or secretive communication with a child; unexplained gifts, money, phone credits, clothing or devices; attempts to isolate the child from family or friends; special treatment or claims that the child is “mature” or “special”; sexual jokes, comments about the child’s body, or sexual questions; requests for private photos, video calls, or sexual conversations; pressure to meet privately; anger, guilt, threats, blackmail, or emotional manipulation; sudden changes in mood, school attendance, sleep, relationships, or online behavior; and sexualized language or behavior that is unusual for the child’s age.
If a child discloses abuse, participants were urged to listen calmly, affirm the child, record the child’s words accurately, preserve relevant evidence, and promptly refer the concern to the designated safeguarding officer or appropriate authorities.
Urgent cases may be referred through the local social welfare and development office, the barangay or municipal child protection mechanism, or the PNP Women and Children Protection Desk.