Rody recalls expulsion from law school

President Duterte once knelt and cried before his mother Soledad when she learned that he had been expelled from the San Beda College of Law.

“If you look at the (1972) yearbook, I was not there… I was only reinstated ( and because of that) I was able to take the Bar, I was given a diploma,” the President told delegates of the Pastoral Parish Council for Responsible Voting on Wednesday.

Recalled his Bedan days, Duterte narrated: “I was not allowed to join the graduation exercise. So I went back to Davao. My mom said: ‘O, Rodrigo, when are you going to buy a ticket (back to Manila)?’ because she knows that we were practicing on stage.”

The President said he then made an excuse, saying it was postponed because of all the troubles arising from the imposition of martial law by former president Ferdinand Marcos.

“Sabi man ng pari na ano lang daw, i- postpone na lang muna. Nag- attend lang kami ng mass, tapos binless kami, la gud. Ewan ko itong San Beda, ma (The priest said it has to be postponed. We were told to attend mass, then we were blessed. That’s it. I don’t know what’s with San Beda, mama),” he added. But reality hit Duterte hard when, on one occasion, his mother was invited to a gathering of the Bedan monastery in Bukidnon province.

While there, his mother met the priest the President identified only as the late Fr. Lacson. She then got the chance to ask if the graduation exercise pushed through.

Duterte quoted Fr. Lacson as saying: “Ay, hindi ba niya sinabi sa ’yo Ma’am? Na-expel ’yan (Oh, did he not tell you? He was expelled).”

Duterte said he knelt and cried, asking for forgiveness when his mother confronted him.

He added that the expulsion was reconsidered only after some of his professors argued on his behalf.

“My professors said ‘Where will this boy go if you don’t certify him as a graduate of law?’ So, I was reinstated,” he narrated, recalling that he was also expelled from Ateneo de Davao during his high school days after playing a prank on a teacher.

Duterte bared during the campaign that he was expelled from San Beda because he shot a classmate who was bullying him in school. But reports said his classmate survived and they eventually became friends.