A Grade 5 student from Penafrancia Elementary School in Antipolo City died 11 days after his teacher allegedly slapped him in school. The PNP and Department of Education are currently investigating the incident. Here’s what happened.

Teacher slaps student

Francis Jay Gumikib passed away last Monday, October 2. According to his mother, Elena Minggoy, Francis’ teacher allegedly slapped and pulled his hair on September 21, after the 14-year-old reported about his noisy classmates.

“Maingay daw po [‘yung klase] pero sabi niya hindi naman daw siya kasama sa maingay kasi nga nagtetest siya, nagsumbong lang siya,” said Elena during an interview.

The teacher allegedly told her son, “Gusto mo ikaw makisali ka rin.” Shortly after, the teacher went up to Francis, pulled on his collar, pulled his hair, and then slapped him.

Student falls ill

After the incident, the Gumikib family said Francis complained of earache and dizziness. He continued to attend school for the next three days but on September 26, he was rushed to the hospital for dizziness, headache, and vomiting. Elena said the doctor found bleeding in Francis’ brain. Shortly after, he fell into a coma and eventually passed away on October 2.

“Yung huli po naming pag-uusap, ‘yung sabi niya, ‘Mama, hindi ko na kaya,'” said Elena.

Francis’ classmate also testified about the incident, saying the rest of the class couldn’t do anything about it.

What was the student’s cause of death?

According to the death certificate, Francis’ cause of death was a global brain edema, with an antecedent cause of acute intraparenchymal hemorrhage or bleeding.

To find out what caused the edema, the PNP is currently conducting an autopsy. According to the PNP Forensic Group spokesperson, PMaj. Solero Rodrigo, the results of the autopsy could take a week to process.

What happens to the teacher?

According to the police, the teacher tried to defend themself. “‘Yung paliwanag po niya, ‘yun pong kamay niya ay dumapo doon sa mukha nu’ng bata. Ang sabi niya po, hindi naman daw po malakas ‘yung pangyayari,” said Pems Divina Rafael from Antipolo City Police.

Meanwhile, the Department of Education (DepEd) in Antipolo City has vowed they will get to the bottom of the matter. Kelvin Matib, an official of the Department of Education Antipolo Division, told CNN Philippines that they will not protect the teacher, but are committed to conducting a fair investigation.

In addition, DepEd also formed a team “to help and assist with the possible interventions like reorientation on Child Protection Policy of all concerned.”

Antipolo Schools Division Superintendent Lerma Flandez assured the Gumikib family that they would be provided assistance.

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