The Toga Tirade That Shamed a Milestone

By Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — April 19, 2025

A Stage of Dreams, a Scene of Shame

A graduation ceremony shouldn’t look like a crime scene. Yet at Colonel Ruperto Abellon National School on April 15, 2025, it did: students forced to remove their togas mid-ceremony, a teacher’s desperate protest, and a crowd’s roar of outrage Manila Bulletin, 2025. The principal’s justification—‘Department of Education (DepEd) guidelines’—rang hollow as the video spread. This wasn’t policy enforcement; it was systemic cruelty masquerading as discipline. When symbols of achievement become targets for shame, education isn’t uplifting—it’s broken Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2025.

The Policy Debacle That Stole the Spotlight

DepEd’s guidelines, outlined in Order No. 009, s. 2023 and Memorandum No. 027, s. 2025, seem straightforward: togas are optional, a “supplementary garment” to promote “simplicity, inclusivity, and ease financial burdens” DepEd, 2025. Yet, the principal’s mid-ceremony crackdown reeks of a colossal misstep. Was this blind rule-following or a power trip gone wrong? DepEd’s “no collection” policy, meant to protect families, somehow justified banning donated togas, leaving students humiliated GMA News, 2025. The principal’s move to record “disruptive” students’ names turned a policy blunder into a public relations nightmare, escalating tensions in a moment meant for pride Manila Bulletin, 2025.

When Austerity Crushes Dreams

This isn’t a one-off—it’s a glaring symptom of the Philippines’ broken educational system. In rural Antique, where public schools serve families scraping by, graduation is a defiant victory over poverty. The toga, as the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) argues, is no luxury; it’s a badge of honor, often the “first and last” for students barred from college by cost Manila Bulletin, 2025. DepEd’s austerity push, meant to level the playing field, instead punishes the poor, robbing them of symbols that make success real. Wealthier schools parade in grandeur, while public school kids are told their pride is too much. This clash lays bare a system that values compliance over heart, silencing students and teachers until a viral uproar demands answers Philstar, 2025.

Screams, Tears, and a Teacher’s Defiance

The viral video captures raw pain: students’ shouts, parents’ tears, a teacher’s bold stand against the principal Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2025. For these families, as TDC’s Benjo Basas said, the toga is years of sacrifice—missed meals, dropped dreams to fund one child’s diploma. “This might be their only toga,” Basas warned, a stark truth for those priced out of college Manila Bulletin, 2025. Teachers, too, reeled. TDC slammed the principal’s actions as “unacceptable,” decrying a ceremony turned “chaotic” by reckless leadership. Their demand for a “thorough investigation” signals deep mistrust in a system quick to dodge blame Manila Bulletin, 2025.

Bureaucracy’s Betrayal Exposed

How did an “optional” toga policy spark such chaos? Ambiguity and unchecked power. DepEd’s flexible rules demand clear communication, yet the principal’s actions scream neither existed. Misinformed or rogue, her mid-ceremony stunt—shaming students, threatening to name names—shows a leadership void GMA News, 2025. DepEd’s promised investigation risks being a show if it only hunts scapegoats. “The Department has initiated the appropriate investigation processes to verify the facts and determine accountability, if warranted,” DepEd claimed, but will it dig into why rural schools bungle policies or how austerity hits the poor hardest? DepEd, 2025. Without these answers, “accountability” is just a buzzword.

Rewriting the Script for Justice

This isn’t about cloth—it’s about whose dignity counts in a system that mistakes simplicity for erasure. DepEd must step up:

Crystal-Clear Rules: Scrap vague policies. State togas—donated or personal—are allowed, with mandatory school briefings DepEd, 2025.
Empathy Over Enforcers: Train administrators to honor the toga’s weight for poor families. Compassion must rule.
Listen Before You Lead: Mandate pre-ceremony talks with students, parents, teachers to nail down details, dodging last-minute disasters.
Give Students a Voice: Let students shape policies, grounding rules in their lived truths.
Own the Mess: Share investigation results and reforms publicly, ensuring rural schools aren’t left twisting Philstar, 2025.

DepEd’s half-hearted “regret” won’t cut it: “The Department deeply regrets that this occasion… became a source of distress” sounds hollow without action DepEd, 2025. True equity means no kid’s milestone gets trashed for daring to wear their pride.

Dignity or Dictatorship?

The Antique fiasco demands a gut-check: do we cherish students enough to hear them before we command? For Laua-an’s graduates, their moment was hijacked not by togas but by a system blind to their worth Manila Bulletin, 2025. As DepEd investigates, justice hinges not on platitudes or fall guys but on rebuilding a system where every student’s triumph is untouchable, not a pawn in policy games Philstar, 2025.