Ateneo de Davao ‘will not be threatened’ by parent’s threats over child’s low grade

Ateneo de Davao University on Thursday said the university and "its personnel will not cower in the face of bullies," following an incident where a teacher was reportedly threatened by a parent over a child's low grades.

"Parental bullying based on public office or on one’s legal profession has no place at ADDU nor in any school, public or private, in the Philippines," AdDU President Fr. Joel Tabora, S.J. said in a statement.

At the same time, the university said it will file complaints against the unnamed parent, reportedly a public official and a member of the Philippine Bar, over attempts to "strong-arm" university personnel with "public displays of arrogant intimidation."

"The ADDU is a Safe Zone not only for its students, but also for its teachers who ought to be able to teach and give out grades accordingly, free from intimidation and threats from parents or any related persons or personalities," Tabora wrote.

But contrary to earlier reports, Tabora said security footage and preliminary interviews revealed that the unnamed parent did not threaten the professor who gave the student a low grade with a gun or any weapon.

The incident, however, remained "reprehensible" and qualified for "legal consequences" that the affected parties are "currently looking into."

According to reports, a parent on Tuesday stormed the AdDU Jacinto campus and threatened a professor over the low grades their college-aged child received.

Professor John Harvey Gamas on Tuesday protested on behalf of the attacked professor and said, "We are willing to die for the grades we give our students!"

Tabora noted that existing procedures allow students to present their case before their body for their grades to be reconsidered as "part of the formative aspect of an Ateneo education to train them to be self-reliant and independent young adults."

Should the need arise for a dialogue with parents, dialogues are done in a "respectful and calm manner" for the best interest of the student. — Rie Takumi/RSJ, GMA News