UST College of Education suspended first year student Hannah Rondilla for convening Thomasians Against Tyranny and Killings (TATAK), an alliance of student organizations and individuals in the University.

Last January, TATAK invited organizations, councils, and publications to discuss the lowering of the minimum age of criminal responsibility.

On March 13, 2019, Hannah received a show-cause notice, demanding her to explain her involvement in TATAK. The letter stated that she violated University rules by joining an unrecognized organization and participating in unapproved activity, such as organizing.

A hearing was then set on a Monday or Friday nearest to March 13.

On May 4, Hannah was informed that the hearing will be in two days. She requested for it to be moved to a later date, because of the unavailability of her parent or guardian to accompany her.

However, the hearing pushed through.

“Naramdaman ko na one-sided yung hearing kasi apat silang nagdidiskusyon sa mga sarili nila tapos ako, parang walang kakampi,” Hannah told TomasinoWeb.

“Sa hearing sa mga korte, minor o hindi, may karapatan silang magkaroon ng witness tapos ako, wala.”

Hannah appealed for a second hearing wherein witnesses, a guardian and a legal counsel could be present. The admin denied the request and issued a four-day suspension, effective from May 15 to 18, and 32 hours of community service.

Last year, a similar case was filed against 13 senior high school students who conducted a silent protest against the K-12 program. The University issued a resolution that put the students under disciplinary probation and ordered a non-issuance of their Certificate of Good Moral Character.

‘Uphold democratic rights’

Rondilla’s case was made public by the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) via Facebook. As of writing time, the post has about 2.4 thousand reactions and one thousand shares.

The League of Filipino Students – UST also released a statement on democratic rights.

The statement read: “We are dismayed at the fact that the University is doing this to one of its own students on the basis of expressing one’s views, which, in the first place, does not contradict the position of the University.”

“In fact, we are one with the University in condemning state-perpetrated attacks against church people, especially those who are vocal against the tyrannical regime and anti-people policies of [Duterte].”

Central Student Council (CSC) president-elect Robert Dominic Gonzales said in an interview with TomasinoWeb, “I don’t see anything wrong when it comes to creating alliances which aim to tackle prevalent issues that our country is facing right now.”

“If I may do so respectfully and with all sincerity, I urge the administrators to back us up when it comes to matters like these,” he added.

Meanwhile, incumbent CSC president Francis “Kiko” Santos also shared to TomasinoWeb that he has just been informed of the case. He said that the Council will be having a meeting next week to discuss further action.

“I do not condone any form of repression in our campus,” Santos said.

“Rest assured that the Council will remain as a council that upholds student democratic rights and welfare as enshrined in the Constitution and the student handbook.”

TomasinoWeb tried to reach out to the UST College of Education Student Council but they have yet to respond.

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