A HARMLESS prank or “terrorizing” to the extreme?
For pointing an unloaded gun to students during a summer music camp last year, the conductor of the UST Symphony Orchestra has been “de-loaded,” and will get a smaller number of teaching units starting June.
The complainants – three Music seniors – however, are crying foul because the original sanction imposed by the faculty council of the Conservatory of Music on Prof. Herminigildo Ranera was suspension, and have appealed to the Rector to restore the earlier decision.
In a letter to Vice Rector Fr. Clarence Marquez, O.P., last February 5, members of the faculty council led by Dean Raul Sunico and Regent Fr. Jose Ma. Tinoko, O.P. said they had decided to resolve the case by “rescinding our initial recommendation for suspension and instead impose the sanctions of deloading which will take effect during the First Semester of Academic Year 2008-2009.”
The Music students claim Ranera carried a .45 caliber pistol and randomly pointed it toward a group of around 20 students in one of the rooms during the summer music camp at the St. Peter’s College Seminary in San Pablo, Laguna on May 25, 2007.
According to separate complaints filed by the parents of Alvin Meneses, Jonah Ruiz Bolante and Rafael James Mendoza to then UST rector Fr. Ernesto Arceo, O.P. last June 5 and the Office for Student Affairs last June 13, Ranera pointed the gun to students at random, pulled the trigger, and fired at the ceiling.
It was supposedly late in the evening, and Ranera was to announce the activities for the following day, May 26, the complainants said.
Sought for comment, Ranera declined to be interviewed by the Varsitarian, saying the matter has been resolved. Ranera has also apologized for his behavior.
Ranera’s rejoinder to the complaints, dated July 25, said the gun he had brought inside the students’ quarter was merely a “toy” and that he never pointed nor fired at anyone in the room.
“I pulled the trigger pointing towards the ceiling but without a bullet as I initially told them,” Ranera said. “I did it jokingly with a smile, and not boastfully or threatening as claimed.”
Ranera also said he entered the room between 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm and not late in the evening as the students alleged, adding that “other students in the room who saw me with the gun were not paying attention to what I was doing, and some were sleeping.”
“Certainly, this is not the atmosphere that would prevail had I threatened them,” he said.
Ranera’s rejoinder said the gun belonged to Raymond Agtarap, a student who is also an enlisted personnel in the Philippine Air Force.
He said Agtarap, Michael Jacinto, Frederico Frayna and Rodel Rivera, a PAF sergeant, could attest that the gun was a toy.
But the complainants and their parents said Ranera had no right to terrorize students. Other students can also testify that the gun in question was not a toy, but a real one, plated silver and black.
“Even though the gun was not loaded with bullets, he must not show it to the public, especially to his own students,” Mendoza’s parents said in their complaint. “We believe that the professor should act as a role model to their students. Professors should not act like what Mr. Ranera did.”
The three students expressed disappointment over the verdict.
“We were not able to get the real justice we deserve in this issue,” Ruiz said. “The (Music) Faculty Council’s decision to deload Ranera instead of abiding by their initial claim to suspend him was never explained to us. It is as if they are hiding something from us. Students who are in that room can attest to the fact that he was guilty of threathening us, perhaps because of being drunk.”
Standing by the faculty council’s decision, Sunico said the case should not be discussed further.
“The accused has already apologized and has been sanctioned by the Faculty Council of the Conservatory,” the dean said.
Prior to extending an apology, Ranera said in his rejoinder that as a faculty member for 21 years and Summer Music Camp Director since 1990, he had not been accused of any wrongdoing and has been “father” and guardian to all the students in camp.
“I am sorry for whatever repercussions my behavior had led to,” Ranera stated in his letter.
“I wish to reiterate that I had no intention whatsoever to terrorize or threathen any student and that the gun-toting fiasco was done only in a playful manner.”
Ranera, a graduate and scholar of the Conservatory with a master’s degree in instrumental conducting from the United States, has also been accused of getting commissions from students’ private performances outside the campus and even exploiting Conservatory students. Part of the income supposedly goes to a fund for scholarships.
He replied in his letter: “Contrary to these claims, all transactions and performances of the UST Symphony Orchestra and the UST Symphony Band have been approved by the Dean, and all financial matters turned over to the Dean’s Office.”
Students below 18 were asked for parental consent and waivers for activities outside the school. The schedule of activities were listed on the bulletin board at the lobby, and scholarship guidelines had been clearly stated to the students, Ranera added.
Bolante and Meneses said that in some instances they were asked by Ranera to perform outside the University.
“He (Ranera) sends us outside to perform in dog shows and weddings for example, despite the fact that these are not events officially sanctioned nor sponsored by the University,” Bolante said. “Most of the time we were not properly compensated for these performances.” A.L.A. Alfonso, J.L.G. Aguilar and J.E.A. Libut
