PROTEST CHANTS overlapped with University cheers on Friday, Nov. 13, as the rally against the US-led Pax Silica coincided with a pep rally of the UST Yellow Jackets.
Hundreds of students walked out of their afternoon classes to call for the junking of Pax Silica, an AI and supply chain security project involving 26 countries that they claimed would displace indigenous people and favor foreign interests.
Carrying their tarpaulins and placards, the protesters converged at the Plaza Mayor, where the Yellow Jackets, the University’s official pep squad, were also holding a pep rally in preparation for the much anticipated UAAP cheerdance competition.
Rallyists led by the UST Central Student Council chanted “Go away,” a rewording of the iconic chant, “Go Uste” to express their opposition to the Pax Silica and the visit of US President Donald Trump. The American leader is set to join the ASEAN Leaders’ Summit this week.
While the rallyists jeered at Pax Silica and shouted anti-imperialist slogans, the UST Yellow Jackets went on with their business. There was even a moment when the original “Go Uste” and its activist version were performed simultaneously. The rallyists also synchronized their chants to the snare and bass beats, giving their protest action the UAAP feels.
However, tensions arose when the protesters asked the Yellow Jackets to stop their drumming while their speakers were delivering their speeches.
“Yellow Jackets, tigil muna (stop for now),” they shouted repeatedly.
UST Yellow Jackets president Francis Levy Samson said the group had no intention of disrupting the protest. He noted that the pep rally, which was meant to support UST’s cheerdance team, had been running since Nov. 10.
“We’re just there merely for the CDC (cheerdanecompetition) pep rally. And our support was solely for the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe,” Samson told The Flame.
UST Secretary General Fr. Louie Coronel, O.P., said both the pep and the protest rallies had secured the nod of the administration.
“Both events, SOCC (Student Organizations Coordinating Council) and CSC, they are both approved by the administration, so we are supporting them,” Coronel told The Flame in a chance interview.
Various groups, including Tigers Against Pax Silica, Anakbayan and Kabataan Party-list joined the rally, which also called for academic freedom and government accountability.
“The Central Student Council is inherently for student welfare. We believe that the matter against Pax Silica is against the student welfare, and it is completely in the best interest of the students to engage in this type of protest because it has implications,” CSC Secretary Clarence Mindo said.
The Philippines joined the Pax Silica initiative last April. The project could create up to P75-billion in annual tax revenues and 190,000 jobs, according to government estimates. However, activists argued that the risks involved in the US-led initiative outweigh its potential benefits.
Malacañang urged students opposed to Pax Silica to submit their position papers and participate in calm dialogues instead of holding rallies.
“We are aware that they (students) are passionate about their appeal to the Filipinos. Nationalism and patriotism are in their hearts. But the administration of President Marcos, Jr. prefers that they join dialogues. If they have specific issues, express their views, submit position papers and express their appeal through calm discussions,” Palace press officer Undersecretary Claire Castro told reporters at the International Media Center in Pasay last Saturday, Nov. 14.
The Philippines and its traditional ally the US aim to sign Pax Silica’s legal framework this year. F — reports from A. Balleta and H. Palomer
