Broadcast journalist Raffy Tulfo made headlines recently after he humiliated a teacher on his show. It all happened when a grandmother sought his help in filing a case against 55-year-old teacher Melita Limjuco for sending her grandson out of the classroom.
Many netizens reacted to Tulfo bullying the teacher into quitting her job even before investigating all the facts involved in the case.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDtsnaS78z0&feature=emb_logo
Tulfo is fully aware that he incurred the ire of netizens and this time, he will start considering what they have to say since he has the “Netizen Power” segment in Aksyon sa Tanghali.
He said: “Maraming netizen ang nagta-tag sa atin, in fact, marami ang nagagalit dahil dun sa naging desisyon nating hindi maganda ang pagkaka-handle sa desisyon na yun. Yes, I’m going to listen to our netizens dahil nga naman kung walang netizens, wala tayong show. So having said that, ang gagawin ko na lang, yung si teacher at itong parent ng bata ay pagbabatiin ko na lang.”
Tulfo admitted that he miscalculated the situation as he got emotional during the confrontation.
“At may point nga naman sila na very harsh daw yung desisyon na pag-resign-in si teacher. Although si teacher, she really admitted na meron siyang pagkakasala dun.”
Tulfo insists Limjuco still needs to be sanctioned
Tulfo firmly believes that Teacher Limjuco should practice tolerance in handling young students. He reiterated what really happened.
He insisted: “Siguro turuan siya ng maximum tolerance dahil ang tinuturuan niya ay mga bata dahil kapag mga bata ang tinuturuan, talagang magiging pasaway ‘yan. At para dun sa mga hindi nakakaalam pa, the reason kung bakit yung bata ay ipinahiya ni teacher ay sapagkat nakalimutan nung bata na dalhin yung card. Yun lang ang mistake nung bata, napaka-minor lang. Nakalimutan niyang dalhin yung card, pinahiya na siya ni teacher, so merong mali si teacher. At kung pakikingan niyo yung side ni teacher, may mali rin daw yung bata sapagkat yung bata raw ay makulit. Now, sino ang mag-a-adjust sa situation na yun? Dapat yung teacher kung tutuusin, siya yung nakakatanda. Siya yung may training, yung bata walang training, di ba? She was supposed to be kind how to handle kids that doesn’t behave well. But anyhow, to make it short, tayo po, hindi pa suspendido yung teacher, hindi pa.”
Raffy explains the complexity of his work
To rationalize his behavior and actions during the viral episode, Tulfo informed the public about the complexity of his work, dealing with hundreds of people seeking his assistance.
“Hindi po madali ang ginagawa ko po at ang ginagawa po ng mga tao. Daan-daan pong katao ang gustong makipag-usap sa akin. Every single day, dose-dosena po ang problema na inaaksyunan ko. By the time pagdating po ng hapon, pagod na pagod na ako. Kung minsan, bago pa lang ako maisalang sa tanghali, yung isang problema, pagod na ako, kasi may tinatawag na off-air napag-iinterbyu at pagbibigay solusyon sa mga problema. So, mahirap po talaga yung mga ginagawa namin.”
Furthermore, the Department of Education is set to investigate the case of the teacher presented on the TV show. According to the DepEd Undersecretary and Spokesperson Annalyn Sevilla, they have to wait for the validated status report first before they can act on it.
On the other hand, Educate Advocate Atty. Joseph Noel Estrada offered aid to teacher Melita Limjuco on the case.
Estrada appealed: “The public school teacher deserves the right to be heard. I do not see any abuse done by the teacher. The disciplinary action imposed by the teacher is the necessary consequence of the child’s misconduct.”
