UP Visayas frat expels 12 members over leaked group chat

The Scintilla Juris fraternity of the University of the Philippine Visayas (UPV) has expelled 12 of its members who were involved in a leaked group chat containing lewd messages and sensitive photos.

In a statement, the fraternity said it had already collated, investigated and verified the leaked contents of a 2016 group chat which was supposed to be a forum for discussion of projects and other academic concerns among its members.

"Through time, however, it appears that it had lost its original purpose, as selected portions thereof leaked through Twitter, depicted lewd and indecent content," it said.

"Nothwithstanding the fact that the leaked contents may be subjected to a separate inquiry by proper authorities, what cannot be denied is that it is illustrative of a deplorable character that UPV SCINTILLA JVRIS cannot and will never tolerate," it added.

The fraternity said the 12 members committed acts "done consciously, knowingly and freely" but "made without due regard not only to their status as students and alumni of the University of the Philippines, but also as members of SCINTILLA JVRIS."

"We deeply empathize with those who were directly and indirectly impacted by the acts of the aforementioned former members, for their pain and trauma brought about by this unfortunate event, including our sisters in STELLA JURIS and ASTRVM SCIENTIS, whose individual trust and concern for us have been compromised owing to this depressing development."

The fraternity said it is already taking steps to craft mechanisms that will prevent similar or graver acts or incidents in the future. -MDM, GMA News