BAYBAY CITY, Leyte - Laborers from University Student Services Office (USSO) went into some of the dormitories on December 4, 2017, and threw out the stuff of the occupants who were still staying there.
This was after the Dean of Students, Prof. Manolo B. Loreto approved of the extension for students who still have exams, and other ongoing academic requirements to December 5, 2017.
Back story: Asked to leave early for SCUAA, some VSU dorm occupants protest, demand refund
According to Mark Francis Pacquiao, occupant of Molave Men’s Hall, laborers went to their dorm saying they were checking the dormitory under the directive of the Dean of Students to see if the places were clean for the arriving delegations.
Mark assured the laborers that everything will be in order as he was already in the process of clearing his things. The laborers went away happily leaving Mark to his activity.
Mark went out for a while, with his stuff organized and ready to pack. When he came back, his things, along with his dormmates' things, were already strewn outside the hallway, their rooms finally emptied.
“Pagbalik nako, murag ang earth nako nighugno jud ug maayo sa ako nakita,” Mark said, and added that “I felt like my right was stepped on.”
“We understand that maybe some students fell short on cleaning, that it wasn’t the degree of cleanliness they expected. But it’s not like we wouldn’t deliver had they demanded.“
He lost P400 worth of money after the incident.
Among the students whose things were also encroached, was that of the University Inter-dormitory Student Body (UISB) Presdient himself, Junrey G. Goles.
“I put my laptop in my bed,” said Goles “I went out to the USSC board meeting. When I came back, I found my laptop underneath the other items that was thrown into our dorm hallways.”
Goles’s laptop, which is one month old and bought with his own savings, has started to malfunction.
“I have no idea how they put it there. I’m worried because I used my own savings for this [laptop].”
The Dean of Students, later the same day, visited Mabolo Men’s Hall and Molave Men’s Hall, and apologized for the mishandled incident, explaining that he could “not sleep having known of what happened.”
“I would like to apologize for what happened earlier this afternoon, I could not sleep without being able to talk to you (occupants),” Dean Loreto said. He admitted that while he did order the laborers to clean the dorms, he did not expect them to handle the situation that way.
He clarified, that he had to do that because some schools will be arriving earlier.
“Students of the Palompon Institute of Technology (PIT) are expected to arrive on December 8, but the kitchen crew will be arriving on December 7. They already called me earlier,” Loreto said.
He asked, at the same time for students’ understanding, given that they are only given a limited time and limited people for the preparation of SCUAA accommodations and, assured that he has already reserved a dormitory in the lower campus for students who are still complying their academic requirements.
"We have two dorms, which is the Narra and Gumamela, that I didn't open because I normally leave out an extra dorm. I'll check the Narra dormitory if there are no longer students, students who still have undergoing academic requirements can stay there."
“I understand the students, because I was once a student too. I also know the life in the dormitory too,” Prof. Loreto ended.
Editor's Note: We corrected the part that says teachers from PIT will arrive on December 7. It's the kitchen crew, not teachers. We apologize for this error.