Castro: Remark on Ateneo de Zamboanga shooting taken out of context

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro on Wednesday said her remark that some teachers have failed to uphold proper conduct and even taught students to be disrespectful were taken out of context, adding that she was not referring to all teachers nor was she blaming them for school violence.

“Nais lang po natin ipakita sa mga guro na hindi po kayo lahat. Hindi po kayo sinisisi. Ito ay pagpapaalala,” Castro said at a press briefing.

(We just want to show the teachers that I am not referring to all of you. You are not being blamed. That was a reminder.)

On Tuesday, when asked about the shooting incident at Ateneo de Zamboanga, Castro said the youth should be guided not only by their parents but also by teachers.

She then pointed out that there have been instances when some teachers themselves allegedly fail to uphold proper conduct and even teach students to be disrespectful.

Following this, the ACT Teachers party-list said Malacañang is “pointing fingers” and shifting the blame for the country’s culture of violence onto teachers and accusing them of failing to instill good manners.

The Palace spokesperson said she hoped the ACT Teachers party-list would put things in the right context.

“Nagkaroon lang ng maling konteksto nung sinabi ng ACT party-list or ACT Teachers na sinisisi ko ang mga guro,” she said.

(The context was simply misrepresented when the ACT Party-list or ACT Teachers said that I was blaming the teachers.)

“Wala po akong sinabi na sila ang may kasalanan. Kahit ulit-ulitin po nila ‘yung ating sinabi, ‘yan po ay pagpapaalala lamang na sila po ay mga iginagalang na guro na mag huhubog ng tamang kaugalian sa ating mga kabataan,” she added.

(I never said that they were at fault. Even if they repeat what I said, it was simply a reminder that they are respected teachers who will shape the proper values and behavior of our young people.)

During Wednesday’s briefing, Castro cited a video of a teacher asking students to fill in the blanks to describe President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Castro showed a screenshot of the video, where the teacher provided the first two letters “ba” and captioned it, “talagang alam ng nga mata bata (the youth really knows).”

She also cited an incident in Davao where students heckled Marcos.

“Iba po ang pagtuturo ng freedom of expression, at iba din po ang pagtuturo kung paano ito isasagawa ng walang pag iinsulto at walang pakita ng maling pag uugali. Kahit sino po ang ating presidente, itong aral na ito ay dapat manatili sa atin,” she said.

(Teaching freedom of expression is different from teaching how to exercise it without insulting others or displaying improper behavior. Regardless of who our President is, this lesson should remain with us.)

Castro, meanwhile, said her mother was a teacher.

“Hindi ko po kailanman hindi bibigyang galang ang mga guro, dahil ang aking ina, hindi pa po ako pinapanganak ay isang public school teacher sa Malolos Marcelo H. Del Pilar High School,” she said.

(I would never disrespect teachers because my mother was a public school teacher at Malolos Marcelo H. Del Pilar High School before I was even born.) — RSJ, GMA News