THE Supreme Court has affirmed the ruling issued by the Regional Trial Court of Antipolo City and the Court of Appeals, which found a female teacher guilty of child abuse for forcing her students to place in their mouths pieces of trash while inside their classroom.
Thus, it modified the CA decision by ordering Garin to indemnify the student P20,000 as moral damages, P20,000 as exemplary damages, and P20,000 as temperate damages.The SC said all damages awarded would earn legal interest of 6 percent per year until fully paid. “While it may be true that not every instance of laying of hands on the child would constitute child-abuse, petitioner’s intention can be inferred from the manner in which she committed the act complained,” the SC said in a four-page resolution denying Garin’s petition for review seeking the reconsideration of the CA’s ruling affirming the Antipolo RTC’s decision which found her guilty for violation of RA 7610.