Harassed or Bullied by a Professor at a Philippine University: Evidence, the Complaint Chain, and Your Visa

The first 24 hours: safety, then evidence, and three things to avoid

Safety comes before evidence. If the professor asks to meet in an office, off campus or in a private chat, decline or bring a classmate. If there has been physical contact or a threat that frightened you, go to campus security, and call the police if you feel in danger. You do not need anyone's permission to protect yourself, and leaving a meeting early is never a disciplinary offence.

The same day, write a plain account: date, time, place, exactly what was said or done, and who was nearby. Email it to yourself so it carries a timestamp. Back up every message, email, graded paper and score screenshot to cloud storage. Delete nothing, including your own replies, even the ones you now regret sending. A complete thread is far more convincing than a selection.

Three things to hold back. Do not confront the professor in person or by message; once warned, they can unsend messages and prepare a version of events. Do not name them on social media or in group chats; online libel is taken seriously here, as explained in our cyberlibel guide. Do not simply stop attending class; absences become the easiest justification for a failing grade. If you are struggling emotionally, getting support is compatible with filing a complaint. See mental health support in the Philippines for where to start, including options in Chinese.

Tell one person you trust what happened, whether a friend, a relative or a counsellor, and note the date you told them. It is not about publicity. It gives you support, and later it shows that your account did not change over time.

Work out which kind of problem this is

Different conduct goes through different procedures, and filing with the wrong office is the most common reason students get bounced around for weeks. You do not need to reach a legal conclusion, but you should know roughly which door to knock on.

Sexual harassment covers sexual remarks, messages or touching, and any suggestion that grades or thesis approval depend on a personal relationship. Philippine universities are required by law to maintain a dedicated committee and procedure for these complaints, so a school should not treat it as an ordinary disagreement to be settled informally. Academic abuse covers unexplained failing grades, refusal to supervise, endless rejection of thesis drafts without written reasons, taking credit for your work, or demanding personal errands. This normally goes to the department chair, then the dean and the academic grievance process, and it turns on grading rubrics and written exchanges. Discrimination means being singled out or humiliated because of nationality, language or religion; it often overlaps with the other two. See what to do about discrimination.

Real cases are frequently mixed. In your complaint, set out the facts in date order and add one sentence such as: "I believe this involves conduct of the following kind and ask that it be handled under the corresponding procedure." Let the receiving office do the classifying. What matters is that the facts are complete and the request is explicit.

If you are unsure which category applies, ask the student affairs office in general terms which procedure covers "a complaint about a faculty member". You can do that without naming anyone, and it tells you where a written complaint will actually be read.

Evidence: what helps and what backfires

The strongest evidence is what the professor wrote themselves. After that come records you made at the time, and then witnesses. Collect in that order: messages and emails from the professor, dated grading records and comments, your same-day notes, classmates who saw or heard something, and other students with similar experiences who are willing to say so in writing.

On recordings: Philippine law restricts recording a private conversation without the consent of those taking part. A secret recording may be unusable and could expose you to liability. We do not recommend covert recording. A safer technique is to send a short email straight after any conversation: "To confirm what we discussed today..." Whether or not the professor replies, you have created a dated written record that they had the chance to correct.

Other things that backfire: logging into the professor's or department's accounts, asking friends to exaggerate, or editing screenshots. If a single item is shown to have been altered, the credibility of the whole complaint suffers. Keep the original device and chat history intact, and do not lose it in a phone upgrade. If messages are in Chinese, keep the originals and prepare a faithful translation rather than a summary. Keep a simple index of what you have, with dates, so that whoever reviews the file can follow it without you in the room.

Finally, keep copies in two places you control, such as a personal cloud account and an external drive, and never store the only copy on a university laptop or a university email account that the institution can close.

The internal complaint chain: who, how, and how long

Written, step by step, and with proof of receipt. A verbal complaint does not start any formal process at most universities, however sympathetic the listener is.

Open the student handbook and find three things: the name of the committee that handles sexual harassment, the academic grievance procedure, and the student affairs office. As a rule, sexual harassment complaints go directly to the dedicated committee or student affairs, and you do not have to pass through the professor's own department first. Academic abuse starts with a written complaint to the department chair, then the dean, then the registrar or a university-level grievance body. International students can copy the international student office, which manages enrolment and visa matters and can help with changing sections or advisers.

Structure the letter in four parts: who you are and which course or adviser is involved; the facts in date order; the evidence attached; and what you are asking for, such as a new adviser, a re-grade by another faculty member, an investigation, or protective measures. Get a stamped receiving copy or an email acknowledgment. Timelines for acknowledgment and investigation are set by the handbook. If the stated period passes with no response, follow up once in writing and then escalate to the next level, attaching your earlier letter. Keep your tone factual throughout. A calm, dated, well-organised file is harder to dismiss than an emotional one, and it travels well if the matter later goes outside the university.

If English is not your strongest language, write the facts in Chinese first and have them translated carefully. Precision about dates and words matters more than elegant phrasing.

If the university stalls: outside channels and protection from retaliation

When a university delays or protects its own, there are outside channels, but use them in a measured order.

The types of channel available are: the higher education regulator, which can receive complaints that an institution failed to follow required procedures; the police desk that handles women and children protection, where there is sexual harassment or a physical threat; the licensing body for the professor's profession, if they hold a regulated licence; and the Chinese Embassy or Consulate for consular protection. Consular officers can advise and express concern but cannot litigate for you, as explained in what consular assistance covers. Whether to pursue a criminal or civil case is a decision to make with a lawyer after weighing time, cost and the effect on your studies.

Build anti-retaliation requests into the complaint itself. Ask in writing that, while the matter is pending, the professor does not grade you, supervise you alone or contact you privately, and ask the university to confirm this. From then on, log any sudden low grade, removal from a research group or hint that you should withdraw, with dates, and submit it as additional facts. Keep discussion among classmates to a minimum so that nobody can claim you spread unverified allegations. If you fear for your physical safety at any point, that is a police matter, not a university one, and you should treat it that way.

Outside channels move slowly as well, and none of them can restore a grade overnight. Use them to make the institution follow its own rules, not as a substitute for a clear internal record.

Protecting your enrolment and student visa, and where Yixing fits

For a foreign student the real fear is usually not the complaint but a break in studies that pulls the visa down with it. Manage the two tracks separately.

A student visa depends on being enrolled and attending. Filing a complaint does not affect it. The risk appears if you take a leave of absence, withdraw or transfer because of the dispute. Before you change anything, ask the international student office what must happen first and in what order. Read what happens to a student visa after withdrawal and shifting course or transferring schools. For who to call in an urgent situation, see emergency help for Chinese students.

Yixing works on the immigration side only. We can check how a transfer or leave affects your student visa and timing, and prepare what the Bureau of Immigration requires; see student settlement and status support. We do not represent students in university proceedings and do not comment on any school or teacher. Yixing is a private consultancy registered with the Philippine SEC (CS202009551) and accredited by the Bureau of Immigration (BI Accreditation No. CA-202624381-1, valid to 2027-06-30). We are not part of any government office or school and cannot decide anything on their behalf.

One practical note: if you decide to move to another university, request your transcript and transfer credentials in writing early. Disputes sometimes slow the release of documents, and a new school and the immigration paperwork both depend on them. Plan the transfer around term dates so there is no gap in enrolment.

For your specific case, consult a licensed Philippine lawyer; this article is not legal advice.