THOMASIAN ACTIVISTS held a rally along España Boulevard on Friday, Sept. 18, to urge UST to take a stand on the ongoing dispute involving some students and the Philippine Air Force (PAF).
The activists urged the University to uphold their right to protest after the PAF filed an administrative case against four student activists who held a rally to oppose a military exhibit last April.
“UST, take a stand. Cut all ties with fascist state forces… prioritize students’ rights and welfare,” the activist groups wrote on their tarpaulins during the march.
The controversy stemmed from a rally held at a PAF exhibit at the Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, O.P. Building last April 21
The exhibit was among the events that commemorated. UST’s 415th anniversary and PAF’s 79th anniversary.
During the event, student activists criticized the display of military gear that they claimed were used to launch aerial bombings and commit human rights abuses in rural areas.
READ: Activists protest against Air Force exhibit at UST
Student activist Kerby Calizar denounced PAF’s actions against fellow student activists Raven Racelis, Ralph Manuel, Sean Capalar and Dexter Frogoso, calling it a suppression of their freedom of expression.
“The anger we feel over the case filed against our fellow youth leaders and youth activists is infuriating, because we can see that this is the state machinery and the administration’s machinery to suppress the critical voices of the youth,” Calizar told The Flame.
He urged universities across the country, including UST, to stand firm in safeguarding students’ democratic rights against “growing state pressure.”
“What should universities across the Philippines stand upon? They should uphold academic freedom and the expansion and strengthening of democratic spaces for the youth,” he added.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Sept. 17, philosophy sophomore Raven Racelis said political beliefs and peaceful advocacy should not be grounds for disciplinary action.
“As a student, we do not surrender our freedoms of speech, expression, peaceful assembly, and association simply by entering the University. These freedoms include the ability to question institutions, criticize policies, and peacefully advocate for causes they believe in,” she said.
Academic institutions must protect peaceful student dissent rather than penalize it, Racelis added.
“Ultimately, this case should not be about whether students are allowed to disagree. It should be about whether peaceful dissent is being treated as misconduct simply because it challenges institutions of power,” the student activist said.
‘Peaceful inquiry’
Manuel, one of the four students facing charges, claimed that the student protest was neither violent nor disruptive.
“It was a peaceful inquiry, and we didn’t cause any trouble or disrupt the surroundings,” he told The Flame.
“It is our constitutional right to assemble and protest.”
Manuel said asking critical questions about military operations and alleged human rights violations in rural and indigenous communities should never be penalized in an academic setting.
“This is a massive violation of the academic freedom of UST students who are simply asking questions about the human rights abuses occurring in the countryside, on farms, and within indigenous communities,” he added.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. earlier urged UST to take disciplinary action against the activists. The students facing PAF cases attended their first hearing on Thursday, Sept. 17. F — Renee Therese Dinglasan
