CONTENT WARNING: This story contains mentions of sexual harassment.
JESUS “JADE” Deogracias Principe, PhD, a faculty member accused of sexual harassment, is no longer a Loyola Schools (LS) employee. “We wish to inform you that Dr. Principe is no longer connected with the University,” University Gender and Development Focal Point Committee Chair Melissa Lao confirms via an email to The GUIDON. A source from the University faculty confirms that Principe separated from the University in November 2020.
However, it is unclear whether the professor voluntarily separated from Ateneo or was terminated from his teaching position. Declining to elaborate on this, Lao cites the confidentiality restrictions in the Data Privacy Act, the Safe Spaces Act, and Ateneo’s Code of Decorum and Administrative Rules on Sexual Harassment.
Following this correspondence, last December 21, The GUIDON asked Lao for comment regarding Principe’s continued inclusion in the Department of Philosophy’s list of faculty members. Principe’s page was taken down the following day.
These new developments arrive four years after students filed complaints against Principe, and more than a year following the LS indignation protests against sexual misconduct in Ateneo. The GUIDON has reached out to Principe for comment but he has not issued a response as of writing.
Long overdue
In 2016, Patricia Escalante (AB EU ‘15 and AB PH ‘16) and Julia* (AB COM ‘16), former students of Principe, submitted formal complaints against the former professor. In a previous interview, Julia said that other students also came forward with stories about Principe’s inappropriate behavior, pushing her to pursue the case filed against him.
Escalante stated that she sent a letter to the Office of the Vice President of the Loyola Schools (OVPLS), which was later processed by the Investigating Committee in-charge of sexual harassment cases in May 2017. The verdict on Principe only reached Escalante in August of the same year after following up in July. According to Escalante, Principe was given a “strong reprimand,” a warning against future misconduct.
Principe continued to teach in AY 2017-2018, but his classes were reportedly dissolved in the succeeding academic year. The former professor received a full teaching load in AY 2019-2020 while sexual harassment allegations against other faculty members surfaced—prompting the LS community to hold multi-sectoral indignation protests in October 2019. These protests led the Sanggunian to file a No Contact Order petition between Principe and his students addressed to the OVPLS, which was approved and made effective until the end of the First Semester of AY 2019-2020.
In the same academic year, Lao confirmed to The GUIDON that Principe was “still employed by the school” in a non-teaching capacity. Amid the outrage and despite Escalante’s case, former University President Jose Ramon “Jett” T. Villarin SJ issued a memo on October 23, 2019 stating that there were no formal complaints filed against Principe.
Escalante recently shared her experiences in a video series—Pat’s Story—released via Time’s Up Ateneo’s (TUA) Facebook page where she described the administration’s treatment of her case as a “re-victimization.” In Pat’s Story (Part 1), Escalante stated that shortly after Villarin’s memo was released, she wrote a letter to his office asking why her case was not considered as sexual harassment. Only then did Villarin’s administration—following an investigation that spanned six to eight months in 2020—reclassify Escalante’s case as sexual harassment, four years after she graduated from the University.
“All I got was… ‘we made a mistake, and we’re reclassifying it period.’ They [passed] it onto someone else to figure out… The question right now is, why haven’t they come out with a public post taking back what they did and apologizing for that?” Escalante said in the video.
The GUIDON has reached out to Escalante but she declined to impart further comments.
Repercussions
Last November, in response to Escalante’s interviews with TUA, the University Marketing and Communications Office (UMCO) issued a statement to PhilSTAR Life apologizing for the damages caused by the University’s “procedural lapses” when processing a complaint.
“We recognize her legitimate concerns about the University’s mechanisms and responses against sexual harassment and share her earnest desire to bring this case to a conclusion,” the office stated.
Since these developments, the new Code of Decorum and Administrative Rules on Sexual Harassment superseded the old Anti-Sexual Harassment Policy of the University, containing more detailed measures in processing sexual misconduct complaints. According to the UMCO’s statement, an independent audit on the University’s procedures on sexual misconduct cases was conducted from December 2019 to June 2020. However, the audit’s results have yet to be published.
Although the new Code and Rules now provide improved processes for succeeding sexual harassment cases, questions regarding the status of unresolved cases remain. Atenean sexual harassment survivors shared with Philstar that even with the new policies, the University’s efforts to address sexual misconduct in the academe remain insufficient. TUA member Danna Aduna also expressed that these institutional changes do not state any form of redress for past unresolved cases. With this, TUA stated that they will engage with the University to help the latter enact the necessary institutional reforms that are aligned with survivors’ vision of justice and healing.
Despite the collective effort to create safer spaces in the LS, it remains unclear whether Principe’s case has reached a fair resolution. As the Ateneo community awaits developments and further details on the former professor’s case from the University administration, calls for justice and transparency on the ground—both equally necessary for sexual harassment survivors’ healing and recovery—grow louder than ever.
*Editor’s Note: This is a developing story. The name of an interviewee was changed to protect their identity and privacy.
