MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Sunday quashed rumors that the father of the Ateneo Junior High School (AJHS) student involved in a bullying incident was a high-ranking police official.
PNP Spokesperson Chief Supt. Benigno Durana clarified in a message to reporters that according to their Personnel Accounting Information System (PAIS) and Record Management Division (RMD) — offices under the Directorate for Personnel Records Management (DPRM) — no Joaquin Montes Sr. has been a part of the police service.
“FYI: As per verification to PAIS, RMD, DPRM, there is no PNP member (former, current or AWOL) Joaquin Montes Sr. which is supposedly the father of [the student] involved in the Ateneo Bullying incident,” Durana said.
He also said that it appears Montes has a different line of work.
“Initial information from Ateneo community, Joaquin Sr. is in the medical profession,” Durana also said.
Videos of an AJHS student — who holds a black belt in Taekwondo — bullying a fellow student went viral on social media last week, prompting the school administration to conduct an investigation on the incident.
Celebrities and politicians alike denounced bullying, and have asked people to refrain from bullying the student involved.
After reports surfaced that it was not the first time the said student bullied his schoolmates, a lot of netizens speculated and claimed the bully’s father was a high-ranking and influential official of the PNP.
The Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) administration has already ordered the dismissal of the student, with ADMU President Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ, saying: “This means that he is no longer allowed to come back to the Ateneo.”
READ: Ateneo kicks out bully student after ‘thorough investigation’
/kga