In other words: From Iligan to Calauan

The past fortnight has seen a battle of words in Facebook, on print, broadcast and online on two issues. One is the alleged sexual assault of a student-writer at the 26th Iligan National Writers’ Workshop. The other is the alleged plan to release convicted rapist and murderer, ex-Mayor Antonio Sanchez of Calauan, Laguna, from jail.

I will reprint carefully curated excerpts from three texts.

The first is the letter of Professor Christine Godinez-Ortega, workshop director and chair of the Mindanao Creative Writers’ Group, to National Artist Virgilio Almario. Professor Almario is the chairman of the government-run National Commission on Culture and the Arts.

“This is in compliance with the request in a letter I received from your office on Aug. 7, 2019 in response to the social media hysteria about an alleged sexual assault during the recently concluded 26th INWW…

“It is not true that the INWW tried to silence [the alleged victim]. The incident she reported was given attention. She was assured of support from the very beginning. She was even encouraged to file a case in court….. I would be the first to be angered about any form of sexual assault, especially if it happens in a workshop that I direct. But I would also be the first to stand against meting out a punishment on the basis of allegations, if witnesses’ accounts say otherwise.

“While we have done a preliminary probe immediately after we received [the complainant’s] report, more investigation had to take place after she demanded that [the alleged perpetrator] be blacklisted. Blacklisting is tantamount to a public announcement of a verdict against a person. The crime being imputed on him is rape; this… requires that a case be filed in a court of law...”

“I reiterate… that the INWW organizers do not condone rape. I also reiterate … that we have looked into the matter, interviewed witnesses, and found reasons to doubt that a criminal act was committed…. The INWW even told [her] to pursue legal action, and that the workshop organizers would cooperate if such would begin.” Professor Ortega claims that their side was ignored by other media; hence, I reprint here excerpts of this letter.

The second text is a strong statement from Likhaan: Creative Writing Institute of UP on this matter that has inflamed writers. This was also ignored by mainstream media that seemed so busy with the breakup of Bea and Gerald. Hence, the space I am also giving to them.

“We express grave concern over the recent allegations of rape, sexual harassment, and other forms of sexual violence… within the context of writing workshops…. It is the duty of organizing institutions to ensure the safety of all… participants from the day of their arrival to the day of their departure…. While writing workshops must exist as liberal spaces of creativity and discourse, creative freedom cannot supersede ethical parameters of conduct. The reports of rape [and] sexual harassment… affirm the need to review workshop practices… to set safety measures and protocols of action should offenses be reported.

“…The UP ICW commits to reviewing its own workshop practices and calls upon other writing… institutions to do the same. It also commits to upholding standards of ethical conduct and non-discrimination… and to ensuring that all its participants know (1) that reports within the workshop period will be taken seriously and given due attention; (2) that unethical and discriminatory acts will not be condoned; and (3) that any workshop participant – fellow, panelist, or staff – who impinges on the safety of another will be identified and penalized.

“The UP ICW stands firmly on the side of justice and supports all efforts toward its pursuit. We stand in solidarity with the writers and artists who call for an end to environments that enable various forms of harassment, abuse, and institutional neglect…. To continue cultivating young, emerging artists and other marginalized voices, writers’ workshops must be established as safe spaces that guard against any form of sexual misconduct and… discrimination.”

So here, we see the need to applaud people who bravely report cases of sexual abuse, that institutions should have written protocols in cases like these, and also the need to formally file cases in court.

And finally, this week, I could not sleep when I heard that convicted rapist and murderer, ex-Mayor Sanchez, would be released on account of his “good conduct.” This was the mayor who raped a UP Los Banos coed, then turned her over to her bodyguards, who also raped her and then shot her along with her boyfriend. Any Law student who has read this case in Criminal Law would be highly disturbed by the sheer evil done to these two students. So how could the convict be released, when he allegedly brought in shabu into his cell, hidden cynically under an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary? How could he be released, when a flat screen TV and other amenities were found in his cell, in violation of existing laws?

Since I am just a perplexed third-year Law student at the University of Manila who is on leave because I work overseas, I sought the opinion of a legal mind cleverer than mine.

Attorney Thedore “Ted” Te teaches Law at UP and hosts a weekly show at Cignal TV-One Ph called “Te Talks.” He said: “Republic Act 10592 does not qualify the grant of Good Conduct Time Allowance [GCTA] to those who are convicted by final judgment in the same way that it qualifies the grant to those who were preventively imprisoned. The limitations as to multiple offenses and recidivism and commission of heinous offenses apply only to Article 29 (preventive imprisonment), not to Article 97 (GCTA). The Implementing Rules and Regulations [IRR] also does not provide for such limitations, the same being applicable only to Article 29 and to those entitled to Special Time Allowance for Loyalty.

“Which is not to say that I favor granting the GCTA to the one with the strange hair. The sole question appears simply to be a factual one – had he been on good conduct such that it would merit the allowances?”

And why should the Bureau of Corrections be the sole agency that would determine “good conduct?”

“There’s the rub,” as Shakespeare would put it.

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