{"id":124868,"date":"2017-10-18T23:58:15","date_gmt":"2017-10-19T03:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=124868"},"modified":"2017-10-18T23:58:15","modified_gmt":"2017-10-19T03:58:15","slug":"ust-law-dean-wont-go-on-leave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/10\/18\/ust-law-dean-wont-go-on-leave\/","title":{"rendered":"UST law dean won’t go on leave"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"FILE:<\/a>
FILE: Divina is also a member of the fraternity linked to Atio\u2019s death, the Aegis Juris Fraternity. (Photo: Divina Law website)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA\u00a0<\/strong>\u2014 University of Santo Tomas (UST) Faculty of Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina on Wednesday refused to go on leave as college dean, despite the prodding of a senator.<\/p>\n

During the Senate second hearing on the hazing death of UST law student Horacio \u201cAtio\u201d Castillo III, Senator Grace Poe asked Divina to take a leave, as his being dean creates a conflict of interest in the investigation.<\/p>\n

Divina is also a member of the fraternity linked to Atio\u2019s death, the Aegis Juris Fraternity.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re the dean and we have a very important criminal investigation that\u2019s ongoing. I wouldn\u2019t say you\u2019re front and center, but definitely a figure that\u2019s looming large,\u201d Poe told Divina.<\/p>\n

Poe said Divina could still continue lecturing but thought it best if he steps aside as dean to avoid \u201cscaring away\u201d other Aegis Juris members from testifying.<\/p>\n

She further suggested that the UST board come up with a resolution placing Divina on leave.<\/p>\n

Divina, however, insisted on remaining as dean, noting that it did not have a bearing on his competence as dean and professor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t abandon my students, especially the barristers preparing for bar exams. I have the support of students, alumni association, and the faculty,\u201d Divina said.<\/p>\n

The dean added that he had not even missed a lecture except for a Senate hearing when he was required to attend but he made up for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think my dedication, my commitment to teaching has changed because of this,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Divina also denied providing special treatment or favoring Aegis Juris members in his college, saying he always maintains neutrality.<\/p>\n

Poe, however, still found it suspicious that Divina failed to immediately contact Atio\u2019s parents the moment he found out a student died.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would be frantic the minute a student was in trouble. You waited how many hours for a confirmation, waited until the next day to tell the parents,\u201d Poe said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re a member of this frat and also the dean of UST. I really think it\u2019s somehow affecting how your actions are,\u201d she added.\u00a0(PNA)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2014 University of Santo Tomas (UST) Faculty of Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina on Wednesday refused to go on leave …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":119627,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,95],"tags":[28438,28437,28439],"class_list":["post-124868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-ph","tag-dean-nilo-divina","tag-university-of-santo-tomas-ust-faculty-of-civil-law","tag-ust-law-student-horacio-atio-castillo-iii","mauthors-azer-parrocha","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124868"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124868\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}