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The school inadvertently drew even more attention to this case when its people decided to stop the student from delivering her speech.
“Days after the video showing the incident went viral, the Department of Education (DepEd) said that it would look into the case of Krisel Mallari, the salutatorian of Sto. Niño Parochial School, whom school officials stopped from delivering her graduation speech,” report Jaymee T. Gamil and Jovic Yee in Philippine Daily Inquirer.
VIRAL: Sto. Niño Parochial School salutatorian’s speech interrupted
According to the DepEd thay have tasked their legal team “to coordinate with the DepEd National Capital Region office and the Quezon City Schools Division Office for an investigation into the matter.”
The report noted: “Among other issues, the probe would focus on what Mallari had said and what she was prevented from saying and the matters discussed or not discussed in her speech ‘like the alleged issues on transparency on the computation of her grades.'”
Moreover, as the report indicated, “the investigation would also take up whether or not the school was within its rights to stop Mallari from finishing her speech.”
The DepEd statement read: “We shall always respect the right of our students to express freely their thoughts and feelings, in light of existing laws and the provisions of our Constitution and in a manner and forum that is appropriate.”
As of 11am on Wed, Mar 25, the video of Mallari’s interrupted speech has gained over 2 million views.
