THE LOYOLA Schools (LS) community’s indignation over sexual harassment cases involving faculty reached its breaking point after an allegation against a professor was raised in a Facebook post—which has since been deleted—yet again. This outrage culminated in an on-campus protest on October 15, yesterday. Following this, the University Marketing and Communications Office (UMCO) issued a statement on October 16 assuring that the administration has taken the necessary actions on formal sexual harassment complaints. 

However, the statement neglected to provide specific examples of the actions they have employed to address such issues. The office also cited the Data Privacy Act and the Safe Spaces Act to explain the lack of transparency on the ongoing cases of sexual harassment in the University. 

Fanning the flames

The statement’s citation of the Data Privacy Act and Safe Spaces Act has been brought into question due to the University’s previous response to the Ateneo Junior High School bullying incident in 2018. The response, which was released after the case received national attention, was written by the University President and included the results of the proceedings involving a minor. This move has been juxtaposed with the current situation, where the administration has withheld information on the proceedings against individuals of legal age. 

Netizens also noticed that the administration’s statement fell under the University Marketing and Communications Office. This has given the impression that the issue of sexual harassment in Ateneo is merely a public relations issue. Further aggravating this assertion is the absence of the University President and the Vice President’s acknowledgment in the statement. 

Later that night, current and former graduate students of the Philosophy Department also released a statement, expressing that “if Ateneo is truly committed to the pursuit of social justice, it needs to confront the hard truth: the campus is unsafe, the processes have failed us, and the University is complicit.”

When asked about the heated responses to the statement, Marketing and Communications Director Matec Villanueva declined to issue an official comment, but said that the importance lies in the University’s evolving measures to address such issues. “No comment since people are entitled to their views. What is important is that the [University] categorically stated its uncompromising position on the issue, outlined the steps taken, and committed to [better] achieve a gender-sensitive Ateneo.”

Faculty and alumni intervention

The release of the University’s statement followed a day after more than a hundred members of the LS gathered around Horacio De la Costa Hall to protest against sexual misconduct and impunity on campus. The mobilization is the first protest against sexual harassment in Ateneo that openly included members of the faculty.Philosophy Department instructor Luther Aquino called for a protest when the post that accused another professor of sexual harassment made rounds on social media. This is the third professor-related sexual harassment controversy that has received public attention since October 2018.

During the rally, Aquino voiced out four particular demands on behalf of the LS community: Accountability, transparency, increased measures for student safety, and the passing of the anti-sexual misconduct provision in the University Code of Conduct.

For accountability, he demanded for immediate action on the University’s part in cases that have been filed, as well as the reopening of previous cases that may have gone unnoticed. For transparency, he stated that there should be public disclosure of the members of the Committee on Decorum and Investigation.

“15 days [of suspension] for the perpetrator? That’s a slap on the wrist,” he said. “This is indicative of how Ateneo treats sexual misconduct cases in general—a system that aims to protect the name of Ateneo is biased in coddling the faculty perpetrators of sexual misconduct.”

During the protest, Philosophy Department Professor Danna Aduna read a statement crafted by former School of Social Sciences Sanggunian Representative Dasha Uy. 

Uy’s statement criticized the University for not taking action against sexual predators in the school when they have the power to do so: “We suffered in silence while our peers were sexually harassed…We thought that there was nothing the school can do.”

Additionally, the statement attributed the “silence” of the institution as one of the main reasons why predators get a “free pass” and cases of sexual harassment persist in the University.

Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan Spokesperson John Lazaro called for action against all sexual harassers. “This is the first time we, the Ateneo student body, collectively asserted ourselves in recent memory to say that we demand justice,” said Lazaro.  

To further voice their frustration with the administration’s failure to take immediate action, the protesters marched to Xavier Hall where administrative offices like the Office of the President, Office of the Vice President for the Loyola Schools, and the Office of Student Services are located. The protest has since gained national coverage by news agencies like Rappler, Philstar.com, GMA, and Inquirer.net.

Student indignation

The Sanggunian has also asserted their stance on the issue, expressing that they are “not satisfied by precedent action” towards harassment cases. Their statement also criticized the University for failing to create a safe environment for students. Thus, they called on the school to act on these cases with increased transparency and accountability. This contrasts their earlier statement released on August 12. Their previous position asserted that while students have valid concerns regarding further transparency for cases of sexual harassment, these do not justify revealing the results of investigations into these.

For the Sanggunian’s Commission on Anti-Sexual Violence and Misconduct (CASMV) Co-Commissioner Lee Duque (2 BS PSY), protesters like her have finally “had enough.” 

“At this point, everyone is just exhausted and infuriated with everything that’s been happening because there’s been a glaring lack of accountability from the perpetrators that are accused and the lack of transparency from the admin themselves,” she said.

Moreover, former Sanggunian President for AY 2017-2018 Ia Marañon said that during her term, sexual harassment among students and faculty was already an issue. She said what prompted her to return to the LS for the protest is the fact that sexual harassment still remains a pressing issue in the University. 

Protester Maia Boncan (3 AB DS) shared the same sentiments, saying that sexual harassment cases have been around since she first entered the Ateneo as a freshman.

“Everyone is really fed up with the system, the so-called processes. It’s good that we were able to mobilize many people on such short notice. We as a whole make everyone else’s voices louder,” she said.

President’s response

On the afternoon of October 16, the University Office of the President broke their silence with a memorandum announcing that the University will create an Anti-Sexual Harassment Manual. This will be released by the end of this year, or sooner if possible. The manual will be constructed to comply with the Safe Spaces Act (Republic Act 11313), which requires academic institutions to publish procedures for filing sexual harassment complaints in the education setting. 

The manual will include information on the definition of sexual harassment and imposable sanctions, grievance procedures, and modes of intervention and assistance. However, the memorandum made no mention of the protest on October 15 or the LS community’s response to the UMCO statement.

ERRATUM: An earlier version of the article stated that Luther Aquino called for a “faculty-led” protest, but it was never officially recognized as such. The article has been edited accordingly. We apologize for the oversight.

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article failed to quote the response of Marketing and Communications Director Matec Villanueva despite her request to be quoted in full. The paraphrase, which reads “…said that the importance lies in the University’s evolving measures to address such issues,” still remains, but Villanueva’s full quote has since been added to ensure that she is not taken out of context. We apologize for this oversight.