UE dismisses students who turned PH flag into mop

Officials of the University of the East (UE) have ordered the dismissal of some high school students who turned the Philippine flag into a floor mop, made a video of the act and then uploaded it on the web.

In a Feb. 22 statement signed by UE president and chief academic officer Ester Albano Garcia, she said the move was unanimously approved by the board of trustees in a monthly meeting on Feb. 18.

“The students were meted [out] the sanction of dismissal in view of the gravity of their infraction, which was not only a direct affront to the [UE] community but to the entire country’s ideals and traditions as well,” Garcia said.

The statement did not give the names or the number of students involved in the Feb. 9 video, which showed one of them mopping the floor using the Philippine flag. After it was uploaded on the web, it quickly became viral, earning the ire of netizens.

Reached for comment, Education Assistant Secretary Tonisito Umali told the Inquirer on Tuesday that while the incident was unfortunate, “it [was] more sad to hear that [the] children…responsible for this [act of] disrespect [were] dismissed from their school.”

“We hope that with this kind of penalty, the concept of not simply penalizing our children but also reforming them will be achieved. I hope that this single act that they committed and the penalty imposed by the school will not determine the type of future they will have,” he said, adding that he respected the university’s decision.

According to him, he has yet to find out whether the students were punished by expulsion or exclusion. Under the rules of the Department of Education, expulsion is a harsher punishment since it means the students cannot be accepted by other local schools while the latter allows them to continue their studies elsewhere.

Calling the incident “regrettable,” Garcia said that the university “shall endeavor to strengthen activities inculcating respect [for] the Philippine flag, the anthem and other national symbols, and shall implement measures to monitor the strict compliance and observance of the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines by our students and members of our academic and nonacademic personnel.”

She also expressed appreciation for “the chance to reaffirm our commitment to molding the youth of the land into citizens imbued not just with intelligence but also wisdom; not just with self-esteem but also patriotism; not just skills for personal gain but also selflessness in contributing to nation-building.”

Desecrating a flag is punishable under the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines with a maximum prison term of one year and a fine ranging from P5,000 to P20,000. Umali, however, said that should the offenders be below 15 years of age, they may be spared from criminal charges under the amended Juvenile Justice Law. With Jovic Yee