Once again, the University of the Philippines community finds itself in the middle of a viral controversy. Just a few days after the UP Golf Club getting called out for a tone-deaf hashtag, university org UP Junior Marketing Association (UP JMA) is now being criticized and condemned for a leaked list of “dares” that humiliate, harass, and harm not only the members and applicants who were tasked to do these “dares” but also others around them.

The list of “dares”

In the subreddit r/peyups, an anonymous Redditor shared screenshots of the list of humiliating “dares” given to applicants and members of UP JMA. The screenshots were reshared on Twitter, where it went viral, catching the attention of the general public.

Some of the “dares” listed in the screenshots include humiliating and harmful tasks, such as (all in verbatim):

• [VIDEO] South “nyenyenyenyenye” for at least 15 seconds to an MMDA officer in Katipunan.
• [VIDEO] Dip your sock-covered feet in the toilet for 10 seconds.
• [VIDEO] Momol the head of a raw fish for 15 seconds. With tongue please.
• [VIDEO] Take a bite of a bar of sopa and chew it for 5 seconds.
• [VIDEO] Do a striptease for 2 minutes.
• [PHOTO] Back Hug your grandmother/mother then grab her boobs from behind.
• [VIDEO] Video yourself reaching an orgasm for 10 seconds.
• [VIDEO] Call your parents and seriously confess that you are pregnant or impregnated someone. Record the entire duration of the call.

A member’s response and subsequent retraction

In a now-deleted response tweet, UP JMA member and netizen seffvincent claimed that these “dares” were “voluntary & consensual” and “it’s not required naman na magparticipate.”

However, netizen seffvincent later deleted the tweet and clarified that he “had literally no say on how they formulated the dares,” being “generally inactive during commwars.” He added that he was “not the lone member to receive such a request from them to reply to the said tweet,” calling out UP JMA and its executive committee.

Some Redditors don’t believe seffvincent’s claim that he didn’t know about the other dares, as he is also a member who went through the app process and previous commwars.

Other testimonies come out

Another netizen added more screenshots showing “dares” from previous years, including some from a now-defunct private account @upjmaanniv.

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Meanwhile, on r/peyups, a former UP JMA applicant shared their personal experience in a previous semester. They also added screenshots of another set of “dares” that are equally humiliating and harmful.

Netizens point out how ironic it is that UP JMA is in charge of the women and gender advocacies for UP Fair 2024. Yet their “dares” go against the very advocacy they’re supposed to campaign for.

Some UP orgs, including UP Pride 2024 and UP Bahaghari, have come out with statements condemning UP JMA’s actions.

UP JMA’s apology statement

Just this afternoon, UP JMA released a statement, where they apologized for the dares, retracted their participation in the UP Fair, and promised to enact reforms.

“We sincerely denounce and apologize for the severity of these dares and the disrespect towards bystanders who are not affiliated with JMA. We realize the grave hypocrisy in championing the needs, rights, and welfare of women and the LGBT+ sector, all while holding an activity that is in direct opposition to everything that we stand for as an organization,” the statement read. “We have also expressed our sincerest apologies to our member Cent for our request to clarify on our behalf, subsequently bringing him undue attention, anxiety, and stress.”

“We are committed to learning from this experience. We are enacting material reforms internally to ensure that our foremost commitment to cultivating safe spaces for members and applicants is manifest in all our activities moving forward. We will do better,” the statement ended.

In an addendum in the comment section, UP JMA also asked the public to refrain from posting or sharing videos of their members performing dares.

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