A fraternity based in the University of the Philippines (UP) announced last night that it is conducting an investigation into leaked chat messages allegedly sent by its members which had misogynistic, homophobic, and Islamophobic views, among other highly offensive opinions.
Upsilon Sigma Phi, in a statement posted on its Facebook account, said that the accusations against its members are being taken “very seriously” and that they “will not tolerate members espousing such backward, misogynistic, and discriminatory views.”
It also stated that the results of its investigation will be sent to UP’s Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs (OVCSA).
The statement says: “We will unconditionally cooperate with the efforts of the OVCSA not only in gathering facts but in ensuring accountability consistent with the dictates of due process.”
While these messages make it appear that the fraternity will remain objective in handling the controversy, Upsilon also said that the leaked chat transcripts could possibly be an effort by unseen forces to ruin their organization, which is celebrating their 100th anniversary this year.
“It appears that there is a concerted effort to besmirch the reputation of our Fraternity during this momentous celebration (centennial),” the statement says.
The leaked messages first went viral on Twitter on the morning of Nov. 21 according to news website Interaksyon. Many of the posts used the hashtag #Upsilon100, a veiled insult given that the frat celebrated their anniversary this year.
In screenshots of the chat transcript posted on Twitter by user @inaurner, the following messages were included, written in Filipino: “F*ck these women, all they do is talk. Everyone knows that the reason why they were given mouths by the Lord is for them to use it in giving blowjobs.”
Another person in the chat also wrote: “That’s why women are just meant for the bedroom or the kitchen.”
[THREAD OF MY “FAVE” SEXIST SLURS FROM OUR BELOVED UPSILON SIGMA PHI]
y’all ready for this?#Upsilon100 pic.twitter.com/RluqWkI2mp
— Tina Boado 🏳️🌈 (@inaurner) November 21, 2018
In one of the screenshots shared by UP journalism instructor Ivy Lisa Mendoza, one of the commenters slams those who participated in the People Power-EDSA Revolution of 1986 that toppled the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, himself an Upsilonian.
The person wrote: “Ever since that f*cking First Quarter Storm, our inflation rate went up. Those idiots. If those a**holes did not participate in the EDSA [Revolution], our inflation would not hit 50 percent but they still blamed it on Apo Lakay (Marcos). These idiots say it was Marcos who destabilized the country but how about those who opposed him.”
The First Quarter Storm was a period of unrest in 1970 where numerous protests were held against Marcos. They were led by students, labor groups, and non-profit organizations.
In another screenshot, one of the persons in the chat sent a Twitter post written by a man named Omid Javier Siahmard, who appeared to criticize Upsilon by writing that they “will not be held accountable for their votes because those behind them are powerful.”
The person who sent the screenshot wrote: “F*cking Muslim. That’s how you know you’re in power when you get comments like this. He’s just butthurt because he won’t go to heaven when he dies. F*ck it, he’s believing in the wrong god. That’s why his hometown is getting bombed.”
Despite their vow to investigate the chat messages, Upsilon’s statement did not sit well with some netizens.
Referring to Upsilon’s accusation that some forces were out to ruin them, Pat Nicdao wrote: “Wow, why does it sound like you’re the victim here?”
Chiara Manuel wrote that it was Upsilon that ruined its own reputation by indirectly blaming other people for the appearance of the messages.
Ton Rivera wrote that members who felt judged because of the controversy would now understand the feelings of women who were disparaged by its members merely because of their gender.
Playing on Upsilon’s motto “We gather light to scatter,” someone joked that their theme for the centennial should be changed to “We gather trash to scatter.”
Upsilon is Asia’s oldest Greek-letter society. Aside from Marcos, its alumni include Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., Senator Francis Pangilinan, former Vice President Salvador Laurel, and Senator Richard Gordon.
