Youth students, alumni, teachers, and parents protested at the Parañaque National High School (PNHS)-Main on June 22 to denounce incidents of sexual harassment involving a teacher and the students in the said school. Kabataan Partylist Parañaque and Tapang Parañaque joined the protest.

According to KPL-Parañaque, alarming reports say these incidents have long been happening, yet the school administration still takes no clear and sufficient action.

“Any form of abuse, harassment, intimidation, or use of power against students is never acceptable. Institutions have the responsibility to ensure the protection of their students and to immediately address grievances related to their welfare,” the group explained.

Alongside the protest, students and alumni held a dialogue with school principal Gerry Lumaban to voice the students’ grievances regarding the sexual harassment that occurred in the school. They also registered their complaints about the lack of chairs, facilities, and other long-standing problems experienced by students inside the school.

Students and groups also launched a petition calling on the Department of Education, the local government, and the PNHS-Main administration to conduct a thorough and transparent (publicly open) investigation and to protect the students.