OLONGAPO, Philippines—Numerous progressive groups criticized the Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (EARIST) after a video of a transwoman student getting their hair cut short to be able to enroll, went viral.

In a video uploaded on X (formerly Twitter) by LGBTQIA+ rights group, Bahaghari, on March 13, a transwoman student is seen about to cry while their hair is being cut.

Bahaghari said in the post that the students were forced to cut their hair after they were denied enrolment because of their hair. 

“Napilitan ang ilan sa mga estudyanteng transgender ng Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (EARIST) na magpaputol ng kanilang buhok matapos harangin ng school administration ang kanilang pag-eenroll nang dahil dito,” they said in the post.

It is stated in the official student handbook acquired through the state college’s website, “male students shall sport a clean and decent haircut without colorful highlights,” under Article VI, Section 2.3.

The video faced a number of negative responses directed to the EARIST administration and their actions shown, with the majority of responses advocating for the rights of education for all while having the freedom of expression and dropping the existing anti-LGBTQIA+ policies in schools.

“Nasa curriculum “inclusive education” daw pero hindi nae-embody ng schools mismo lol,” user @sugarnpiscess said.

nasa curriculum “inclusive education” daw pero hindi nae-embody ng schools mismo lol

— ysobel (@sugarnpiscess) March 13, 2024

One of the commenters also empathize with the student and questioned the point of the haircut policy.

“I can feel the pain! Bakit naman ganto @earist1945, other schools allowed na mag cross dressed, whats the point of implementing this?? Reputation!?? Grabe kayo!” said user @_yourboyjd.

I can feel the pain! Bakit naman ganto @earist1945, other schools allowed na mag cross dressed, whats the point of implementing this?? Reputation!?? Grabe kayo!

— jd🧃 (@_yourboyjd) March 13, 2024

On Friday, March 15, members of the Bahaghari-EARIST, along with other groups conducted a Black Friday protest in front of the EARIST College of Industrial Technology in Manila, to condemn the incident and the university’s haircut policy.

On the same day of the protest, the Office of the President of EARIST responded to the public’s criticism and said that no one were denied enrolment.

“All students were, and allowed to enroll for the Second Semester of the School Year 2024-2025, regardless of gender and particularly of how they manage/wear their hair, provided that those with long hair have them properly fixed or tied,” the statement read.

They also claimed that the videos circulating online regarding the haircut are “unverified.”

Manila City Council also called for a session in response to the viral video to discuss and investigate reports of EARIST administration regarding the issue, highly emphasizing the implementation and enforcement of City Ordinance 8695 or the Manila LGBTQI Protection Ordinance of 2020.

In an interview with AMAPS, Bahaghari-EARIST Representative JP Brillantes said that the students were repeatedly told to follow the haircut policy in the handbook in order to enroll.

“Ah, yung nangyari kasi doon, ilang araw na silang nagpapabalik-balik sa school para mag-enroll, tapos isa lang ‘lagi yung sinasabi nila na sumunod daw sa nakasaad sa student handbook, na meron nga[ng] prescribed haircut for male students,” Brillantes said when asked about the brief context of the viral video.

Brillantes also said that the person in the video had to return three times to the college, while other transgender enrollees had to return for a week to enroll but were still denied access to do so.

Bahaghari-EARIST made multiple attempts to speak with the EARIST administration to reconsider their enrollment, but the administration insisted for the enrollees to follow the guidelines of the handbook.

According to Brillantes, the handbook is difficult to follow when the existing guidelines are made to be “oppressive” and would “take away the rights of the people to express themselves.”

“Kaya itong mga estudyante, hindi nila alam kung puputulin ba din nila yung buhok nila or magpapa-late enroll na lang sila. Siyempre, yung iba na-pressure kasi that time, parang last two days of enrollment tas hindi pa sila nakaka-enroll. Kaya kahit labag sa loob nila, nagpagupit talaga sila,” Brillantes added.

When asked if the cases of forced hair cutting to comply with policies existed inside EARIST before, Brillantes responded that these cases already happened— specifically around December 2022.

“Ever since December of 2022, talagang nilalapit na namin ito sa admin ng EARIST, and kung ano-ano ang pinapapasa sa’min na papers, pinapabalik kami sa Office of the Student Affairs, pinapabalik kami sa office ng bawat deans, kaya hindi rin namin alam kung ano talaga yung plano nila sa amin,” Brillantes added.

Brillantes went on to clarify that the EARIST’s official statement regarding the viral video is false, citing two specific passages: one stating that all students, regardless of gender, are welcome to enroll for the school year, and the other claiming that the widely shared video is “unverified.”

“Kaya namin[g] patunayan na galing talaga ‘yun sa loob ng EARIST, nangyari ito sa loob ng eskwelahan,” JP said. 

According to Brillantes the two enrollees involved said that they lost their confidence in facing people, and felt overwhelmed by the negative reactions that came from the video.

The reactions of the students from EARIST were mixed; as some people supported what Bahaghari-EARIST fights for, while others supported the administration’s demand in following the handbook guidelines.

Brillantes calls for all students who also face a similar experience to speak up about their struggles.

“Sa mga schools din na nakakaranas ng ganitong klase ng opresyon, ‘wag kayo matakot magsalita kasi karapatan niyo ang inaapakan at karapatan ninyo ang inaabuso. Kaya dapat sila ang matakot sa inyo, kasi sila ang may ginagawang mali,” Brillantes said.

On Friday evening, EARIS Manila suspended haircut and uniform policies after a dialogue between LGBTQIA+ groups and CHED Chairperson Popoy de Vera according to Bahaghari PUP’s Facebook post.