Runner responds to ‘pulling’ of ID lace incident

During the attempted “Naruto Run” event that was stopped by the Student Welfare and Formation Office (SWAFO) yesterday, September 27, a DLSU-D student had his student ID confiscated after a SWAFO officer stopped him by pulling him aside by the ID lace around his neck a few moments after he started running. However, some students had negative reactions after numerous videos surfaced online.

Runner speaks out

In an interview with The HERALDO FILIPINO, the student in question (who has requested to stay anonymous, but will be referred to as “Michael”) explained that he did not expect to have his be ID confiscated. “Hindi ko po alam na hindi pala ‘to official event ng DLSU-D. At hindi ko rin sinadyang sumali,” said the student.

Michael shared that this was the first time he has been caught by the SWAFO for any offense, stating, “never pa ako naka-violate kahit isa since Freshmen [year].” Due to this incident, Michael shared that he felt “scared” when he was caught by SWAFO, adding that he fears his parents’ reactions as well if they were to know what happened.

When asked his side of the story when his ID was taken, Michael said, “My reaction was that I was scared, and physically hurt because firstly, out of all the places that you can grab a student, why did you choose the ID lace? It hurt my neck. The officer of SWAFO was caught on video, and if I wanted to, I could file a case against him for maltreatment.”

“No’ng hinatak ‘yong ID ko sa leeg, obviously it seemed like he’s treating me like I’m a dog on a leash, and students shouldn’t be treated like ”animals”,” he furthered.

According to Michael, the grounds for the confiscation of his ID by the SWAFO officer were, “loitering daw,” adding, “Ewan ko lang, or baka bawal lang daw tumakbo sa campus.”

SWAFO’s response

In response to the angry reactions of students regarding the SWAFO officer who pulled one of the runners’ ID lace, Johnatan Villa, the concerned SWAFO formator in the video, explained, “Nakatigil na siya. Sabi ko sa kaniya, tigil ka na, kase pilit pa siya tatakbo pa sana siya. So no other recourse kami para matigil siya hawakan siya kung saan pa pwedeng hawakan. Nakatigil na eh. So kinuha ko ‘yong ID.”

The concerned officer added that the said event might cause danger to the students, which would then be the University’s responsibility.

“Marami ng estudyante na nag lalakad diyan, pano pag halimbawa meron silang nabangga. Madisgrasya sila or sila madisgrasya. Sino ba sasagot no’n? School diba,” Villa added.

Meanwhile, the other SWAFO formator in the video identified as Rodelio Figueroa explained how he stopped the runner coming toward his direction: “Nahawakan ko ‘yon sa kamay, eh ‘di, ‘di [na]man siya bumitaw.”

“Sa part namin sa SWAFO, masakit ‘din samin na… naririnig namin na killjoy kami. Pero sa’min, okay lang sa’min kase trabaho namin ‘to,” he added. “Gusto namin, gawin niyo ng activity na makakasaya sa inyo, but provided that kailangan na nasa lugar, mayroong permit, kase if in case may nangyari sa inyo, sino mananagot?”

SWAFO Director John Casidsid shared similar sentiments that the school would be liable for any consequences of the event. In response to the students criticizing SWAFO for allegedly pulling on the ID around the neck of a student while running, Casidsid imparted, “Hindi naman siguro harassment ‘yon, hinabahol naman siguro nila kase hindi naman [na]pigilan eh. Hindi naman siguro nahila na ganyan. Nahila ka kase natakbo ka.”

Casidsid emphasized the importance of stopping the first set of runners, “Kasi ‘pag simula ng isa ‘yan, susunod ‘yan e. So mabuti lang na pigilan nila ‘yon ‘di magtatakbo.”