It must be some twenty years or so ago that I made my first disclosure about my experience of sexual abuse from the hands of Fr. Ruben Tanseco, S.J. Let me chronicle the moment before I lose it from my memory.

There was a time when I would have my sleeping quarters at the lower ground floor of the Loyola School of Theology where I worked as librarian. After going out of the office at 5:00 in the afternoon, I proceed to my room and change my clothes. Sometimes, I would go to the roof deck of the LST Building when I feel tried given the rather refreshing view of the Marikina Valley before it gets dark and the lights on the streets and the houses and buildings are on. There are chairs and tables on the roof deck. I would find one place to sit and relax. At one point, I met Nono Alfonso, SJ on the roof deck. He was a Jesuit scholastic studying theology at that time. We talked. One of the topics we talked about was sexual abuse by Jesuits. It was a rather relevant topic because of a controversial case of sexual abuse involving Fr. Vic Salanga, S.J., who used to be president of Loyola School of Theology at that time. Nono asked me about how widespread was the knowledge of the case among the employees of Loyola School of Theology. I told him that we occasionally talk about the case but not much. Without fanfare, Fr. Vic Salanga just disappeared and later we knew he was in the US or somewhere else.

In the course of the conversation, I learned who the victim was. Emman was a good friend of Nono. I was told about Emman altering his life to become a lawyer and get back at Fr. Vic Salanga. He also told me about how his own experience of sexual advances by Fr. Vic. As a seminarian years back, I heard of stories of seminarians being asked to get naked during a spiritual direction session. I heard of one case of a pre-novice asked by Fr. Vic Salanga to masturbate in front of him.

My conversation with Nono eventually led to me to disclose my own experience of sexual abuse from a Jesuit, Fr. Ruben Tanseco. He was sympathetic to me. He even encouraged me to disclose my case to the Father Provincial, which I eventually did. I consider Nono Alfonso as a significant person who became part of my journey as a victim of sexual abuse by his fellow Jesuit. Nono is now Fr. Nono Alfonso, S.J. I can only hope he is still with me in my journey as a victim of sexual abuse by a Jesuit. That moment of chance encounter and conversation with him remains in my memory.

I have seen a list of sexual abusers who are Jesuits released by Jesuits in the United States of America. Perhaps, the Jesuits in the Philippines can release the names of Jesuits in the country with sexual abuse cases, all for transparency and accountability.