UST 'excludes' student for physical abuse of ex-girlfriends — report

MANILA, Philippines — The University of Santo Tomas has decided to kick out a Biology student after he was found guilty in a second case of inflicting physical injuries, the school's student paper reported.

Kyle Viray, 20, was "excluded" from the roll of students and was "disqualified" from enrolling in any program in UST after another complaint of physical abuse, the Varsitarian reported Monday. 

The resolution comes after Gil Morales, an Accountancy student of UST, filed a complaint accusing Viray of inflicting physical injuries on her on six occassions.

UST's Office for Student Affairs reportedly gave Viray three days to address the allegations. Viray denied he abused Morales, either in private or in public and said he had no relations with her. 

Viray, however, refused to appear at a July 30 hearing scheduled by OSA.

Community service for previous offense

The allegations of physical abuse against Viray first came out on social media in July after his ex-girlfriend and classmate Diane Arcena posted photos of her hematomas after several incidents of beatings from Viray. 

The Varsitarian reported that there were at least four incidents of beatings that took place on December 18, 2017, and on February 21, March 2, and 23 of this year. 

In a resolution last May, a discipline committee of UST found Viray guilty of violating its Student Code of Conduct  for “inflicting injuries, physical or otherwise, on another person, whether inside or outside the campus."

He was given 250 hours of community service and was barred from participating in the graduation ceremonies of UST's College of Science. 

UST said it "exhibited a degree of leniency" to Viray when he was first found guilty due to his status as a graduating student.

The second complaint, however, merited enough basis for the grave penalties of exclusion and disqualification from UST's other programs. 

The UST administration has yet to release a statement on the matter as of writing. — Philstar.com intern Christian de Lano Deiparine