THE SENIOR High School administration of University of Santo Tomas dismissed allegations to a Grade 11 student for supposedly recruiting members in an unrecognized school organization.

Lance Alo, tagged by a parent of a UST-SHS student in a January 15 complaint as recruiter for Anakbayan, was found not guilty of violating the university’s Code of Conduct.

The acquittal of Alo was based on the resolution issued by the school’s administration. It was posted on Facebook by his legal counsel, Vicente Topacio.

In December 2020, the school declared Anakbayan was not among UST’s duly recognized organizations and discouraged students from joining the group.

The UST Student Handbook states students are allowed to join or form organizations whose objectives uphold the vision and mission of the university.

Penalties for membership in an unrecognized organization include suspension, non-readmission, or exclusion from the university.

Last month, Grade 12 student Datu Ampatuan Jr., head counselor of the UST-SHS Student Council, was dismissed from the university because of his affiliation with Anakbayan.

The university ordered Ampatuan will not be readmitted and will not be issued a Certificate of Good Moral Character.

But Alo pointed out 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,”  in his response to the Student Welfare and Development Committee on January 28, and in a meeting with UST-SHS administrators on February 6.

“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 SWDC said in the resolution.

Alo stressed the dismissal of the case was important as the university fulfilled its promise of safeguarding its students from the continuous attacks on academic freedom and human rights.’

“The university vowed to engender the institution as a safe space for the right to free expression, speech and thought,” he added.

Meanwhile, Kabataan Partylist lauded the decision of UST-SHS administration, stressing it must support the rights of students and academic freedom.