Ateneo temporarily bars prof from teaching amid harassment claims

An Ateneo de Manila University professor was barred from teaching for the rest of the semester over allegations of sexual harassment.

According to the university student council President Quiel Quiwa, the administration approved the no-contact order against the professor on Wednesday upon the council's request.

Luther Aquino, a university Philosophy professor and a member of Time’s Up Ateneo - a coalition of students, faculty members and alumni seeking justice for harassment survivors - had revealed last Friday that a no-contact order had been implemented and the accused professor was no longer meeting his classes.

However, they had yet to hear an official statement from the administration.

In an interview on Saturday, Quiwa said that other faculty members had promised to take over the accused professor's classes.

Formal complaints

Meanwhile, another professor’s fate was still in question as no sanction had been decided.

On October 14th, an anonymous online post alleged that a student was harassed by this other professor.

On Wednesday, Ateneo de Manila University President Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin clarified that there have been no formal complaints filed against this second professor.

Out of the seven sexual harassment complaints filed with the Committee on Decorum and Investigation in the last three years, Villarin said that five resulted in a termination of employment.

Quiwa, however, pointed out that though the administration claimed that no formal complaints had been filed, survivors have been opening up on social media and claiming that they, in fact, filed such complaints.

Time’s Up Ateneo also released a statement on Thursday arguing “that the mere absence or presence of a formal complaint is not determinative of whether or not incidents of sexual harassment have transpired.“

Quiwa emphasized that the council had been assisting harassment victims who surfaced during the last two weeks in moving forward with their formal complaints.

At least three professors from the Philosophy and English Departments were alleged to have been involved in sexual harassment incidents, putting them at the center of protests and social media outcry.

Over 1,145 students, faculty members, and alumni had signed a petition calling for an end to any form of sexual violence on campus. One of the signatories was Senator Risa Hontiveros who graduated from the university in 1987.

One of the provisions in the petition stated that the university should stop hiding behind the Data Privacy Act and Safe Spaces Act, an issue the university brought up in its decision to withhold information on the pending sexual harassment cases on campus.

Villarin has also recently publicly apologized for the administration's "gaps and inadequacies," vowing to make reforms within the university.  — DVM, GMA News