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Rosaldes v People; G.R. No. 173988; October 8, 2014; Bersamin, J.

  • Writer: Bianca May Dorado
    Bianca May Dorado
  • Jun 25, 2020
  • 2 min read

FACTS:

Petitioner Felina Rosaldes accidentally hit her knees while sleeping bamboo sofa after victim, her Grade 1 pupil, bumping on her knees. Victim refused to apologize to her, the latter then pinched him on his thigh. Then, she held him up by his armpits and pushed him to the floor. As he fell, Michael Ryan's body hit a desk. As a result, he lost consciousness. Petitioner proceeded to pick Michael Ryan up by his ears and repeatedly slammed him down on the floor. Michael Ryan cried. RTC found her guilty. Petitioner appealed to SC and OSG contended that there are no new facts to be raised.


ISSUE:

Whether or not petitioner is guilty of child abuse.


RULING:

Yes.

Although the petitioner, as a schoolteacher, could duly discipline Michael Ryan as her pupil, her infliction of the physical injuries on him was unnecessary, violent and excessive. The boy even fainted from the violence suffered at her hands. She could not justifiably claim that she acted only for the sake of disciplining him. Her physical maltreatment of him was precisely prohibited by no less than the Family Code, which has expressly banned the infliction of corporal punishment by a school administrator, teacher or individual engaged in child care exercising special parental authority (i.e., in loco parentis).


Medical examination also proves that victim suffered injuries. In the crime charged against the petitioner, therefore, the maltreatment may consist of an act by deeds or by words that debases, degrades or demeans the intrinsic worth and dignity of a child as a human being. The act need not be habitual. It was also shown that Michael Ryan's physical maltreatment by the petitioner was neither her first or only maltreatment of a child. Such previous incidents manifested that the petitioner had "a propensity for violence.”

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