MANILA, Philippines – The rector and president of the San Beda College Alabang has apologized after students and concerned netizens criticized the way SBCA handled the recent death of a student.

“As your Rector, I sincerely apologize for everything that may have caused you pain in the wake of the unfortunate events, and I urge everybody to be guided by charity in thought, word, and deed,” SBCA rector and presidency Gerardo de Villa said in a statement posted in the early morning hours of Saturday, February 11.

He added that all students and staff will be excused from February 13 to February 15 to allow them time to process the incident. Those who stayed home on February 10 were also excused.

The apology comes after a guidance counselor reportedly urged students to not “exaggerate your feelings” following the death of a Grade 12 student.

On Thursday afternoon, February 9, a 17-year-old student fell from the sixth floor of a school building, just as lunchtime hit. The student was immediately rushed to the Asian Hospital and Medical Center in Alabang, but was declared dead by 1:16 pm.

“This incident all came as a shock to our community. No words could describe the pain we feel as we try to comprehend why such a thing happened,” De Villa said in a on Thursday. “We cannot foresee how this incident may affect each of us.”

However, SBCA did not suspend classes the day after the incident, February 10, despite calls from the school community. A student reported that of the 25 students in their class, only 8 attended.

“It is so bad. The teachers just gave us free time. They were shaken as much as we are,” the student said in a Twitter post.

A mass and “mental health check forum” was held later that day. Footage from the talk showed a guidance counselor asking students not to exaggerate their feelings, insisting that what they saw was only “one part of that picture.”

“Please do not exaggerate the picture. Do not exaggerate it. Kung ano lang nakita ‘nyo, ‘yun lang (Just stick with what you saw). If you feel sad about it, okay. Pero (But) if you’re going to exaggerate your feelings on that one part of that picture, that is totally wrong,” he said. 

“Kasi kapiraso lang naman ‘yung nakita ‘nyo, tapos apektado kayo buong araw (It’s because you only saw one small part, and then you’re going to let it affect you for the whole day). Remember, this is an accident,” the guidance counselor said. 

‘They wanted to gaslight us’

Students and parents alike expressed outrage over what they perceived as the administration’s attempt to quickly sweep the incident under the rug and move on.

“It seems that the goal of the forum was to make us move on quickly, and sweep the entire thing under the rug. They wanted to gaslight us. Too late. So many students have heard of it,” one student said on Twitter.

“San Beda, do better, give the mic to professionals, not to [a] naive person,” another student posted. 

In an open letter to the SBCA, a parent from the Bedan community expressed how the administration failed to communicate with parents and guardians about the safety of their children following the incident.

“We were kept in the dark, and all bits and pieces of information we had to scour from one GC to another or from each others sons or daughters assuring their parents that they are in fact okay,” the parent said. “Nobody took the time to assure all the parents that the children are safe.”

The parent also criticized the poorly done debriefing for students, which she felt did not help students process the trauma of what had happened.

“You rallied the students who went to school today (even if they don’t feel like going to school today) only to have a certain ‘guidance counselor’ tell them ‘to not exaggerate the picture,’” the parent said. “I don’t know how you counsel people who just experienced a traumatic event as a community, but I am sure this is not how it is done. In my vocabulary – this is called gaslighting.”

Muntinlupa City police told Rappler in a phone interview that based on their spot report, the student “fell from height.” – Rappler.com

The Department of Health has a national crisis hotline to assist people with mental health concerns. The hotline can be reached at 1553 (landline); 0966-351-4518 and 0917-899-USAP (8727) (Globe/TM); and 0908-639-2672 (Smart/Sun/TNT). For regional helplines, click here.