The call for Arroyo’s resignation is resounding loudly in the academe, and the faculty of the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman has added their voice to the latest political upheaval confronting the Arroyo government.
BY REYNA TABBADA
Bulatlat
Vol. VIII, No. 5, March 2-8, 2008
The call for Arroyo’s resignation is resounding loudly in the academe, and the faculty of the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman has added their voice to the latest political upheaval confronting the Arroyo government.
In a special University Council (UC) meeting last February 27, the teaching personnel of UP Diliman unanimously adopted two resolutions titled, “Gloria Must Go” and “UP Faculty Demand the Resignation of Romulo Neri as CHEd Chair.” Also, the UC approved the motion for the school’s participation in the February 29 Interfaith Prayer Assembly in Makati City. Composed of full time, associate, and assistant professors, as well as professor emeritus, the UC is the highest policy-making body of UP Diliman concerning academic matters.
Direct assault
According to the Council’s statement, Arroyo’s acts are “a direct assault on nearly all the values we hold sacred in the academe.”
Corruption, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and repressive measures like the Calibrated Pre-emptive Response and Presidential Proclamation 1017 were cited by the UC as direct assaults to two objectives cherished by UP: “getting at the truth” and “forging a democratic society.” The issues of missing UP students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan as well as the anomalous NBN-ZTE deal are also mentioned in the statement.
And as UP celebrates its Centennial year, the UC highlighted the institution’s tradition of “being one with our people.” The group concluded that “the truth cannot be found in Gloria Macapagal Arroyo” and that their commitment to the struggle to “build a progressive society” and “a responsible and accountable government” starts with their call for Arroyo to step down from her post.
Support from other sectors
The council gathered at UP Diliman’s Quezon Hall where other constituents of the University joined in their assembly. Before they rallied around the campus, students from the College of Social Work and Community Development (CSWCD) together with the Youth Act Now formation and members of the All-UP Workers Union (AUPWU) verbally gave their support to the UC.
“Nakakahiya na ang pinakapuno namin ang pinakakurakot (It’s embarrassing that our highest leader is the most corrupt),” declared AUPWU President Buboy Cabrera. Students called on their colleagues from other colleges to also support the call for Arroyo’s resignation.
Professors from the College of Science (CS), College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP), CSWCD, and the College of Arts and Letters (CAL) also issued unity statements. National Artist and CAL Professor Emeritus Bienvenido Lumbrera ended the program with a poem titled “Imbitasyon”: Kurakot sagad na hanggang buto / Kailangan nang matigil / Di tayo aatras sa presidenteng evil (Invitation: Corruption to the bone/Must be stopped/We would not back down from an evil president). (Bulatlat.com)
