THE TOLEDO family wants UST to take accountability for the death of BS Physical Therapy senior Junver Toledo, demanding an official apology and acknowledgment of its “negligence” in its alleged failure to recognize warning signs before the graduating student took his life.
In a letter read during the June 3 filing of an House resolution seeking a probe into Junver’s death, his sister Olive said the family firmly believes UST holds “significant responsibility” for the incident.
“We hold the University of Santo Tomas accountable for fostering a system where such negligence could occur without intervention or proper redress,” the letter, read by UST Panday Sining president Raven Racelis, said.
“[W]e have come to believe that [UST] bears significant responsibility due to its incompetence, negligence, failure to report, and failure to act on serious concerns that had been affecting his well-being,” it continued.
READ: Resolution seeking probe into Junver Toledo’s death filed in House
Olive said Junver had shown “evident signs of distress” before taking his life, but UST failed to act on them.
In a screenshot of an email circulating on social media, and confirmed to the Varsitarian by Olive, Junver sent an email to the College of Rehabilitation Sciences (CRS) at 1:13 p.m. on May 17 — approximately two hours before he jumped to his death.
Toledo asked for “grade reconsideration,” offering to do “anything” to improve his grade, which fell short by only 1.5% of the passing mark. He failed the course Clinical Correlation and Team Approach for the second time, delaying his graduation.
Olive claimed in her letter that UST had ignored “prior complaints, red flags, or calls for help” from her brother, citing “inadequate systems of reporting and response” from faculty, staff, and student support services.
UST also responded with “institutional silence and lack of transparency,” she said.
“These failures represent not only a breach of moral responsibility, but potentially legal and ethical violations of student care standards,” the letter read.
The Toledo family demanded a written public apology from UST leadership, a full investigation into the events surrounding Junver’s death, disciplinary action against any negligent faculty, and a public commitment to mental health reforms and better crisis-response protocols.
“We loved our brother. He trusted the institution. UST failed him,” Olive said.
“We demand justice, not just for him, but for every student who continues to walk the halls, unaware that their cries for help might also go unanswered.”
‘No remorse’
On May 30, University administrators met with the Toledo family for the first time in a closed-door discussion on the death of the BS Physical Therapy senior, the Varsitarian has learned.
The meeting was held at the Rector’s Hall in the Main Building and was attended by a top Dominican administrator, a UST legal counsel, a guidance counselor, and CRS Dean Anne Marie Aseron.
Also present was the faculty member for Clinical Correlation and Team Approach, who spoke to the Junver in a 27-minute Zoom call.
RELATED: Junver Toledo’s final days, and his family’s pleas for reform, compassion
Toledo’s parents, aunt, uncle, and his sister were among those who joined the meeting.
According to Olive, who attended virtually from overseas, the UST and CRS administration displayed “no remorse” during the dialogue.
“According to my father, who was directly in front of them, he felt that there was no remorse from the UST admin and CRS faculty. Wala man lang siyang naramdamang sympathy,” Olive told the Varsitarian.
“It felt like all their responses were rehearsed and very calculated.”
Details of the meeting have been kept under wraps, and a team sent by the Varsitarian to the Main Building that day was repeatedly escorted out by security despite carrying both UST and press credentials.
The meeting took place on the same day UST was supposed to send off its more than 7,000 graduates from the Class of 2025 during the Baccalaureate celebration, which was postponed by a day due to inclement weather.
CRS has yet to reply to the Varsitarian’s May 23 letter asking about the college’s plans to strengthen its mental health policies and revisit course failure protocols following Toledo’s death. Another letter sent June 3, asking about the results of the meeting, has yet to be answered.
