Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) is no stranger to crime. Recent concerns of campus safety first manifested when a string of theft cases within the University was reported, with the trend lasting from 2008 to 2013.  Since then, University President Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ has taken subsequent actions to address these issues—one of which being Ateneo’s move to change its long-standing security agency.

Discussions of student security naturally extend beyond campus gates as student life spreads out to areas surrounding the University. For this reason, the surge of reported thefts, hold-ups, and physical violence along Katipunan Avenue, Esteban Abada, and Varsity Hills in the previous year have been cause for alarm and concern within the community. The Ateneo is once again under pressure to fulfill its role in loco parentis (i.e. in place of a parent) as the primary institution in charge of upholding its students’ safety and well-being.

 Tracing the timeline

 Recent reports of criminal activity near the Ateneo campus began circulating last December 1, 2017 when the Office for Student Services released a security bulletin regarding several robberies between Sweet Inspirations and the Oracle building. In the memo, the office specified the suspects’ use of get-away vehicles such as a red Innova van and motorcycles and called for Ateneans to be especially vigilant during the Christmas season.

 Shortly after, The GUIDON reported a hold-up along Esteban Abada that victimized two Loyola Schools (LS) students in the early morning of December 7, 2017 with an almost identical modus operandi (i.e. a particular technique or method).

 Two years have passed and the alarmingly frequent reports of crime around the campus has the community on red-alert. Earlier in the year, the  Campus Safety and Mobility Office (CSMO) confirmed a case of a student being stabbed along Katipunan Avenue on March 24. Two months after, the Varsity Hills Homeowners Association reported the rape incident of a woman in her private residence in Burgundy Place, with the suspect identified to be a worker from a nearby hi-rise construction site.

Furthermore, at the beginning of Intersession 2019-2020, the CSMO released a memo regarding three hold-up incidents on Rosa Alvero, Gate 2.5 footbridge, and along B. Gonzales dated June 16, June 17, and June 20, respectively. The memo indicated all incidents to have happened after midnight. 

CSMO Director Marcelino Mendoza proposes that the supposed uptrend in reported crimes could be better explained by local factors that may be convenient for individuals with criminal intent. These include events in local politics, certain times of the day, and the lack of legal consequences. 

Criminal confidence

During the months where criminal activity is reportedly more rampant—such as November-December and June-July—Mendoza notes the possibility that perpetrators adapt to inexperienced barangay officials. Changes in the manpower of barangay tanods on duty surrounding the recent induction period of local officials in 2018 were cited as “windows of opportunity” that criminals often abuse. “Bagong upo lahat yung mga officials [ng barangay chairman], mga tanod niya, kaya lahat ay nangangapa pa,” says Mendoza, regarding the supposed rise in crime before and after the recent local elections.

(The barangay chairman’s officials are newly elected, his tanods are newly inducted, so all of them are still in the process of learning.)

Mendoza also highlights the frequency of reported crimes around campus that occur after midnight, stating, “Kung ikaw yung gagawa ng kalokohan, mas gugustuhin mo yung walang tao, o kung may bantay man, nagpapahinga o pagod na.”

 (If you’re aiming to commit crime or cause trouble, you’d prefer to act when there are no people, or if there are stationed guards, you want them to be resting or tired at the time you choose.) 

Furthermore, Mendoza notes that repeat offenders operating along Katipunan have observed that should they be caught, they face minimal consequences and are unlikely to appear in court for an official criminal case. “Kahit mahuli sila, hindi naman sila macha-charge sa court kung walang magfifile. Ang pwede lang magfile yung victims, hindi yung schools o yung barangay. From our experience, kahit mahuli na yung supposed suspect, umaatras yung victim,” Mendoza laments.

(Even though [the suspects] are caught, they cannot be brought or charged in court if no one files a case. Only the victims of the crimes may file the case, not the schools or the barangay. From our experience, even though the suspect is caught, the victims back out of a court case.)

Drawing on his experience with students who initially sought to press charges against their aggressors, Mendoza explains that parents don’t want their children to experience the processes of reporting a crime and attending court hearings. As a result, victims typically drop the charges in these circumstances and the suspect is once again let loose after spending a few days in the local police station holding cell.

Aside from circumstances that are common to these instances, crimes reported around the University also reveal criminal tactics that are repeatedly observed across incidents.

 Minding the modus

 Based on his knowledge of crimes committed in the vicinity of the University, Mendoza notes that criminals around Loyola Heights prefer preying on students who walk alone or in small groups. He adds that thieves reportedly target small items of value like wallets, electronic devices, and jewelry.

Despite various security memos that caution students to exercise watchfulness regarding these incident patterns, the prevalence of violence in recent criminal modi operandi seem to warrant more than just heightened alertness.

Over the course of the past two years, the increase of violent crime around the University can be reflected in suspects’ use of weaponry and physical force. The recent reported use of knives, brute strength, and other physical threats in crimes around the area is in stark contrast to the reports of nonviolent crimes such as burglary in the previous years. 

Furthermore, the Loyola Heights Barangay Peace and Order Committee activity report for the first half of 2019 details the use or threat of physical violence as accountable for 51% of all crime reported to barangay officials.

The prevalence of violent crimes in the area like assault and hold-ups was enough to warrant the barangay’s request to the local Quezon City police station for extra security, which includes electronic surveillance measures and an extra police car along Katipunan Avenue.

News by netizens

Beyond personal vigilance and precautionary measures, residents of Loyola Heights have also taken to reporting incidents and sharing stories of crime via posts and group chats on social media

A more recent practice has developed in the anonymous discussion of witnessed or experienced crime through online forums such as the ADMU Freedom Wall.

Rather than reporting crimes to the concerned University offices such as the CSMO, many citizens have taken to using the internet to publish their personal accounts of crime publicly.

July 15 marked one of the more recent online reports of alleged theft—shared anonymously on ADMU Freedom Wall—said to have happened in Bo’s Coffee Katipunan. The anonymous contributor reported a seemingly new modus operandi involving teamwork between two street children who steal valuables from patrons of the establishment. According to the online report, one child is meant to distract the baristas so that the other can crawl around and pickpocket unsuspecting customers.

Security offices in and around the University have yet to confirm the incident or the supposed modus, but commenters on the original post claim to have witnessed similar incidents in the same establishment.

Anonymously reported incidents are notoriously difficult to track. This is evidenced by the inconclusive investigation for a submission on ADMU Freedom Wall that relayed an account of sexual assault that allegedly occured on campus. As a result, Mendoza advises that victims of crimes within and around campus to report to the CSMO immediately, or at least the nearest guards during the time of the incident.

Struggle for security

Should the details of such reported incidents be confirmed with the involved parties, the CSMO coordinates with local authorities and releases security bulletins to keep the community aware and informed.

A memo released by the Sanggunian ng mga Paaralang Loyola ng Ateneo de Manila on June 25 indicates, “measures have been taken in cooperation with Barangay Loyola Heights and the [Philippine National Police] to prevent incidents of snatching, hold-ups, budol-budol, and robberies along Katipunan Avenue.” Though the extent of the measures in place were not specified in the bulletin, the heightened visibility of barangay tanods at ground-level may be part of the undertakings to make the community marginally more safe.

While heightened surveillance does improve safety in an area, the methods and systems of criminal justice must also be enforced to achieve long-term security for the barangay.

In line with this, Mendoza asserts that members of the community must be educated on basic legal law so that they may not only reach justice, but also support the processes for reporting and prosecuting criminals in and around campus. 

He adds that should students decide to proceed with filing criminal charges the CSMO and the school would be ready to assist them. “We will be assisting them, kung kailangan from school to the police, o from school to the courts, pwede namin sila ihatid at may mag-assist pa sa kanila doon (We will be assisting them. We can bring them from school to the precinct or from school to the courts. We’ll even have someone there ready to assist them).”

With reports of violent crime on the rise around the University and frequent memos about criminal operations around Loyola Heights, members of the Ateneo community are reminded that there are institutions to help them stay informed and safe amidst these dangerous times.

Photo by Gabriel Medina
Illustration by Mikhaella Norlin Magat