By ANDREA KATE S. ARO
A Senior High School (SHS) student of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) was found not guilty of recruiting members for a Leftist youth organization.
According to a report from The Vartisarian, the UST-SHS complaint was dismissed due to insufficient evidence against Lance Alo, a member of the UST-SHS Student Council.
“We carefully examined the pieces of evidence and statements provided by the complainant and Mr. Alo. Due to the lack of sufficient evidence, the committee is convinced that Mr. Alo is innocent of the allegation,” the UST-SHS Student Welfare and Development Committee (SWDC) said in a resolution.
Alo was also found not guilty of violating the university’s code of conduct in a resolution issued by the UST-SHS administration on Feb. 15, The Vartisarian reported.
Under the Code of Conduct in the UST Student Handbook, students are prohibited from joining and engaging in unrecognized organizations.
On Jan. 15, a parent of a UST-SHS student filed a complaint against Alo and other council members and was accused as recruiters for Anakbayan, an unrecognized organization in UST.
Alo met with the UST-SHS administrators on Feb. 6 and said he could “neither confirm nor deny his membership and role in Anakbayan given the lack of definite and clear proof indicated in the incident report.”
Penalties for membership in illegal organizations include suspension, non-readmission, or exclusion from the university, the report from The Varsitarian said.
