UST law dean suspends all members of two frats

Published October 15, 2014 2:51am

University of Santo Tomas' Faculty of Civil Law suspended all members of two fraternities from "all bar operations and other student activities" after the Supreme Court's Office of the Bar Confidant complained of a confrontation between fraternity members while the bar exams were held last October 12. A second and similar incident was also reported the next day, October 13.

According to The Varsitarian, the official student publication of the UST, Dean Nilo Divina suspended the members of the Gamma Delta Epsilon Fraternity and Aegis Juris Fraternity as a "precautionary measure to ensure the security of all reviewees and students of the faculty."

“Hindi ko na-witness, pero from accounts of students who were there, may sakitang naganap, not just yesterday but also [last] Sunday,” The Varsitarian's Dayanara T. Cudal and Arianne F. Merez quoted Civil Law Student Council President Victor Villanueva as saying.

But the university's security officer had a different account. “We just guided the students para safe na makauwi. Wala namang sakitan na nangyari, parang discussion lang,” UST Security Chief Joseph Badinas said in an interview, according to The Varsitarian.

This year's bar exams are being held at the UST campus in Sampaloc, Manila on the Sundays of October. Some 5,994 aspirants took the tests in both the morning and afternoon sessions last October 19.

The next exam dates are October 19 and October 26. A liquor ban has been in effect around the UST campus on bar exam Sundays since October 5.

The Supreme Court has ordered and implemented strict security measures for the bar exams ever since the September 26, 2010 grenade blast that wounded more than 40 people, many seriously, including San Sebastian College law student Raissa Laurel, who lost her legs. — ELR/DVM, GMA News

Tags: barexaminations, barexams