Wrongdoings should never be tolerated —Pisay teachers

Concerned faculty members of the Philippine Science High School (PSHS)-Main Campus exhorted its Board of Trustees to "revisit" its decision on the case of the students allegedly involved in cybercrime and prove that the institution does not tolerate "injustice" and abuse of women.

In a statement, the teachers condemned the decision of the BOT allowing the six students who allegedly posted private and unseemly photos of female students to graduate despite a contrary recommendation from the school's discipline committee.

"The BOT decision sends a dangerous message that these actions are tolerable, thus setting a precedent for all present and future students of the PSHS system," the said.

"Such actions could be considered contrary to the core values of PSHS — truth, excellence, service — and are unbefitting of a PSHS scholar or graduate," they added.

Earlier in the day, a statement issued by the Department of Science and Technology said PSHS Board of Trustees has yet to reach a final resolution on the issue. 

The department urged the public to "respect the silence" of the Board as it was still "carefully studying" the matter.

The Secretary of the DOST chairs the Board of Trustees.

Several students and parents earlier said the six students involved in the cybercrime should not be allowed to graduate.  The PSHS has scheduled the graduation rites on March 29.

According to the faculty members' statement, discipline cases are studied and investigated thoroughly by the committee.

"Discipline cases are approached with a scientific spirit and humane outlook to achieve the ultimate goal of balancing mercy and justice," they said.

"It is for this reason that we find the decision to reduce the gravity of the offense and and their corresponding sanctions unfair for all students involved and detrimental to the efforts of the school to create an environment where wrongdoings are dealt with accordingly," the teachers added.

They said school officials should make the learning environment safe for students.

"However, by allowing the behavior of some students to become disproportionately sanctioned, we are essentially letting them off the hook while the victims continue to suffer," the statement said.

It added, "At the same time, we are failing to make the members of our community feel safe.  This may ultimately result in the erosion of their trust in us as a system, a situation which we must all endeavor to prevent from coming true."

In a larger context, the teachers said that allowing their scholars to move forward as members of society, "while tolerating their abusive behavior and misogynistic practices, will only reinforce the status quo that Philippine society is plagued with systemic issues of sexism and victim-blaming." —LDF, GMA News