Sun.Star Daily Publication Date: [April 19, 2006]
Last March 19, Cris Hugo, national council member of the League of Filipino Students, was shot dead in Legazpi City.
The police illegally abducted two leaders of the student council of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines last April 4 while speaking in a community forum.
The UP Cebu College Student Council condemns such unjust acts and all moves that aim to clamp down protests against President Arroyo’s low education budget, the sorry condition of state universities and colleges, excessive increase in tuition and other fees, and other anti-student policies.
We likewise express extreme disapproval over proposals that seek to make the Reserved Officer Training Corps mandatory again.
The revival of the obsolete, corrupt, and essentially fascist program will only exaggerate the already repressive nature of the Philippine educational system.
Despite attempts to frighten us, we will never be cowed. The authoritarian stance of the present government is not a sign of strength.
Efforts to muzzle the media, clamp down on dissent and limit civil liberties are actions of a dying regime desperate to cling to power and continue to implement policies such as the deregulation of oil, the jacking up of the value-added tax, etc.
The UP Cebu College Student Council will continue to lead the Iskolar ng Bayan in standing up for civil liberties.
We will continue to work for a mass-oriented education that will truly cater to the needs of nation building and call for meaningful social change despite the continuous deception and tyranny of a bogus and anti-people government. ■
