Ateneo De Manila University President Jose Ramon Villarin ordered the dismissal of their high school student Joaquin Montes after investigating the viral incident happened several days ago at their premises.
In an official letter, Villarin said that their investigation found that Montes was guilty of the doing a bad deed to his schoolmate inside the men’s comfort room of their school, however, they didn’t mention the other videos circulated on social media showing the young Taekwondo champion doing the same thing to other students.
“He is no longer allowed to come back to the Ateneo. I have spoken to the parents of both students about this decision and have offered the families continued support to help them overcome this difficult time. We are continuing the investigation as there are other matters involved in the incident,” Villarin said.
They reminded the netizens that Ateneo opposed any forms of persecution in their school.
Villarin also announced that he made a task force to create a safer environment for their students.
“We acknowledge that this incident has inflicted widespread and profound pain not only on the persons involved and their families but on each member of our community as well,” he said.
The Ateneo President also urged the public to become calm and stop debating on the issue.
“We can summon the courage to stop fighting one another. We have that power too. We can begin by refusing to add fuel to the fire and helping our children and one another heal. As we approach Christmas, we are reminded by the prophet that there is a light that shines in the darkness.” he said.
“It is this light of Christmas that can guide us on the journey to becoming a people of peace, held together by our love of one another and our love of the Child in the manger, who is Christ our Lord,” he added.
This week, social media became full of discussion about the incident happened in Ateneo, some even called out the parents of Montes for letting their child commit such bad deed against other people.
Some Pro-Admin bloggers also criticized Ateneo for not guiding their students and being busy in their fight against the current government.