'Although the teacher was cleared of the homicide complaint, it is still possible to file a child abuse complaint against her ... student’s parents should file a complaint (of child abuse)'
ANTIPOLO CITY – Weeks after news broke out over the death of a Grade 5 student who was slapped by his teacher, the Philippine National Police (PNP) released its autopsy report which effectively prevented the filing of a homicide case against the suspect.
According to Antipolo City police chief Lt. Col. Ryan Manongdo, the death of Francis Jay Gumikib is not related to his teacher slapping him, as shown in the autopsy report by the PNP medico-legal office.
The rupture of the blood vessel in the brain of the student who died was “non-traumatic in nature,” reads a part of the medico-legal report issued by the PNP Forensic Group.
“With regards to the layman’s term of the cause of death, intracerebral, cerebral edema is inflammation of the brain, and intracerebral hemorrhage the bleeding of the brain,” Rizal PNP-FG chief Lt. Col. Maria Analiza dela Cruz explained.
“The cause of the intracerebral hemorrhage or the bleeding in the brain is the inflammation in the brain, and the cause of the intracerebral hemorrhage is what we will look at, so we said that the nature of the rupture of that vein was non-traumatic. Mostly it is a rare condition,” she added.
The medico-legal report showed that Gumikib was born with a "rare condition" that would have eventually brought health complications.
Teacher Still Liable
However, Peñafrancia Elementary School teacher Mirasol Sison, who allegedly slapped 14-year old Francis Jay Dumikib last September 20, may still face other charges which include violation of Republic Act 7610, otherwise known as the Anti-Child Abuse Law.
Sison, who admitted slapping Gumikib, had earlier been slapped with a 90-day suspension by the Department of Education (DepEd).
Although the teacher was cleared of the homicide complaint, it is still possible to file a child abuse complaint against her, Manongdo told newsmen in a press conference held at Camp Crame.
The PNP said that the Grade 5 student’s parents should file a complaint against the public school teacher.
As of press time, Sison has yet to issue any statement regarding the result of the autopsy.
Since 2012, DepEd has forbidden the use of corporal punishment to discipline a student and also requires a zero-tolerance policy for all acts of child abuse, exploitation, violence, discrimination bullying, and other forms of abuse.
No Second Autopsy
Interestingly, the Grade 5 student’s family said that they are no longer pursuing a second autopsy on the young Gumikib has finally been laid to rest.
According to Lt. Col. de la Cruz, the family of the 14-year-old Gumikib initially planned to ask for another autopsy to be conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation, but changed their mind at the last minute.
“The investigators told us that they are going to register the postmortem result on the death certificate, and there will be no re-autopsy already,” added Dela Cruz even as she claimed that the most common cause of intracerebral hemorrhage in the age group of the patient.
“At first it’s asymptomatic, then it’s all of a sudden. These roots are so fragile that they can rupture or burst spontaneously. In other cases, there is tension on that particular anomaly in the brain.”
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