Ben Madilynn
THE Department of Education-Division of Davao de Oro (DepEd-Davao de Oro) announced that they will investigate the case of a teacher who recently died from severe stress after receiving alleged insults from the school’s principal.
“DepEd-Davao de Oro assures the public that it will thoroughly conduct an investigation on the cause of her death,” Deped-Davao de Oro’s official statement on Sunday, September 22, 2024 read.
This follows an online post that went viral claiming that Mrs. Marjorie Espinosa Llanto-Bolde, a teacher from Tibagon Elementary School in the Pantukan North District, died from severe stress after being scolded and insulted by their principal.
The division also offered its condolences to the family of the teacher who passed away on September 19. DepEd-Davao de Oro also encouraged everyone to “pray for the repose of her soul.”
Relatives of Llanto-Bolde expressed their grief through a social media post, stating that the experiences of the teacher contributed to the emotional distress that may have led to her death.
Hannah Llanto, a relative of Marjorie, posted pictures of her message in the classroom group chat, where she shared her feelings. It was revealed that the teacher was reprimanded by the school principal after a parent reported an incident involving their child, which allegedly occurred due to mischief.
“Nag answer sila sa math..ako na busy ko ug check sa mga nahuman ug answer sa math..Kalit lang na ninghilak ug nagdugo ang ulo..Ako gipangutana. Ning sayaw daw siyag pinahigda unya naigo iyang ulo sa bangko (hey were answering math..I was busy checking papers of those who had finished answering..when suddenly someone cried out and someone was bleeding. I asked them what happened. They were dancing while lying and their head was hit by the chair),” Marjorie explained in a message.
In her message, Marjorie said that the parent could have approached her directly if they had concerns about their child; she believed they should not have reported it to the school principal. She further shared that she felt insulted by the principal, which caused her difficulty in breathing.
“Naa moy concern or wa nagustuhan sa akoa..unya kay inyo mang gipaabot..salamat success kaayo mo…To the max ang cassava akoang nadawat..na almost di nako makaginhawa sa kahiubos (If you have any concerns or things you do not like about me and you want to tell me..Thank you, you are successful… I received berating to the max… that I almost lost my breath due to it),” she said.
Gloria Espinosa Llanto, the mother of Marjorie, said that what happened to her child was very painful and that Marjorie herself did not talk about her experiences at school. She emphasized that her daughter did not have any underlying health issues and that two weeks after being berated by the school principal, Marjorie began complaining of body pain.
Gloria, who is also a retired principal, mentioned that had she known what happened to her child, she would have spoken personally with the school principal.
“In a school o ikaw ang labaw diha sa eskwelahan, ayuhon nila pag trato ilang personnel dili kay one-sided lang kanang unang nag storya mao na imong tuohan. Wala pa gani niya napangutana diretso nag tawag humag storya atong ginikanan uli na gitawag niya akoang anak unya iyang gi dabu-dabuhan ug kasaba. Kung unsa man ka dako-dako sa eskwelahan paminawon nimo both sides,” she said in an interview with DXDC 621 RMN Davao on Monday morning, September 23, 2024.
(In a school, if you are a high-ranking official, you must treat your personnel well; you should not be one-sided, only listening to one individual’s story. They did not even ask what happened; they immediately called my daughter after speaking with the parent and berated her. Regardless of their position, they must listen to both sides)
Marjorie’s remains are expected to be laid to rest on September 29, 2024.
Meanwhile, the parent of the child reached out to the Municipal Police Station regarding the harassment she and her family had faced for being blamed for the death of Marjorie.
She explained that her reason for reporting to the principal was that she felt the adviser’s actions were inadequate, as her child had been subjected to bullying by classmates, which resulted in him needing to undergo wound stitching.
“Sa ka-kiat lang gyud to, sa ka-kiat lang gyud to sa akoang anak. Ang akoang purpose ato nga nibalik ko pagka-ugma sa principal kay awareness sa ilaha nga kanang akoang anak, na-ingon ana, wala gi-first aid. Bisan kinsa man nga ginikanan, buhaton to uy. Human gilain na man og sabot sa netizens,” she said in a radio interview with DXDC 621 RMN Davao.
(It is because of how active my son is. My reason for returning to the principal the next day was to raise awareness about what happened to my child, that he was not given first aid. Any parent in my position would do the same. However, the netizens did not take it well).
The parent then encouraged the public to listen to both sides before making judgments and commenting, noting that her child had been absent from school for one week due to the situation.
Meanwhile, Davao de Oro Governor Dorothy “Dotdot” Gonzaga said on Monday, September 23, 2024, that the province has already provided various assistance to the family of Teacher Marjorie.
Gonzaga, who was present during the presentation of 35 former New People’s Army (NPA) members at the 60th Infantry (Mediator) Battalion of the 10th Infantry (Agila) Division of the Philippine Army (PA) at Camp Morgia in Barangay Dona Andrea, Asuncion, Davao del Norte said that she is planning to meet the parents of the student for fair treatment of the involved parties. However, she cannot give her judgment as to what happened because “there are two sides of the story.”
“Kung assistance, okay. In fact, the other day, nagkita mi sa inahan pero wala pa mi nag istoryahanay kay daghang tao. Lisod maghatag og hukom karon but pretty sure ato ning trabahoon with the DepEd (If we talk about the assistance, everything’s okay. In fact, the other day, I met the mother but we didn’t talk because there were many people [in an event]. It is difficult to give a verdict now but pretty sure we will work with the DepEd),” the provincial leader said, adding that with the collaboration of the Department of Education, she hopes to implement several policies to avoid such incidents in the future.
DepEd-Davao de Oro and the Provincial Local Government Unit (PLGU) informed the public that the cause of her death would be thoroughly investigated. RGP, DEF
