“DESPERATE BS, nothing more, nothing less,” commented Hansley Juliano on the recent attempts to attach the university name to allegations involving Philippine presidential candidate Noynoy Aquino’s mental condition.
Two ‘psychiatric evaluations’ detailing Aquino’s unsound mental condition were bared in the media and the internet recently.
The two documents have both been alleged to have come from the Ateneo Psychology Department. The first document had former Ateneo High School Principal Fr. Carmelo Caluag, SJ as the evaluator and signatory, while the second had Ateneo Psychology Professor Fr. Jaime Bulatao, SJ as such.
The two Jesuits have since denied writing the documents.
The Ateneo Psychology Department called the evaluations as fabrications and condemned these “repeated attempts to use the Ateneo Psychology Department for Black Propaganda.”
Enough is enough
“Ginagamit lang ang pangalan natin (Our name is being used); more so, the names of our beloved professors!” said junior Bian Villanueva, in a post at the popular Overheard at the Ateneo Facebook page.
In a Facebook comment, School of Social Sciences Fourth Year Executive Officer R. Lance Chua said, “Sobrang bad trip nito, palagi na lang nadadali Ateneo (This is so irritating; Ateneo gets dragged all the time [in issues like this]).”
“Enough with this mudslinging! How many days before the elections, and the candidates are fighting not for our country but for themselves!” he continued.
If there is smoke
Former Ateneo Debate Society (ADS) President Gica Mangahas said that she’s “inclined to believe” the refutation of the reports.
‘Tomcat’ is the online pseudonym of an unidentified person who claimed to be an old classmate of Aquino. The person posted an open letter in Facebook after the alleged psychiatric reports surfaced. In the letter, Tomcat shared his recollections of his college days with Aquino, and affirmed some of the claims raised about the senator in the alleged pyschiatric reports.
“Even if it were true, I don’t think it makes any difference—Tomcat’s portrayal of Noynoy’s college years doesn’t provide much insight into his character as a person now,” said Mangahas.
Current ADS President Shiveena Parmanand, meanwhile, commented that even if the allegations about depression were true, she doesn’t think of them as “so awful.” “I’d think it would have been expected considering the state of his family’s affairs at that time,” she said.
According to the reports, Aquino was clinically depressed around the time his father, Benigno Aquino, Jr., was put into jail.
Parmanand continued, “Conversely, it also speaks volumes about a candidate whose campaign strategy would include leaking what should be confidential documents about the opponent.”
In a Facebook reply, senior Kasey Albano said, “In a perfect scenario, elections would be solely about a candidate’s platform and qualifications. But this is the Philippines—political parties hire groups and individuals for the sole purpose of digging up dirt on their opponents.”
In response to the alleged psychiatric records, Albano said that with so many different documents surfacing “These could be dismissed as mere black propaganda, but [with so many articles, documents and testimonies surfacing,] one cannot simply help but think: ‘if there is smoke, there is fire.’”
“[The Liberal Party] owe us some kind of explanation,” she said. She mentioned the need for the party to explain doubts over Aquino’s mental health. “[They] can put these exposes to rest by [having Aquino take] as simple psychiatric examination… madali lang naman diba [that’s not too hard, is it?]?”
with reports from Joan C. Medalla and Bea C. Cupin
