Autonomy
Under Siege
The Philippine
Collegian and RA 9184
BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD
PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN, 2006-2007
The Philippine Collegian bears
witness to a lasting tradition of independence as a student institution.
It is a publication funded solely by the students, and for years has
served as a salient representation of academic freedom and democratic
rights. Throughout history, University of the Philippines (UP) students
have vigilantly fought for the publication' s autonomy from all forms of
administration intervention.
Once again, the Collegian's
autonomy is under siege.
Using Republic Act No. 9184 or the
Government Procurement Reform Act, the UP administration since June 2006
has blocked the release of the Collegian's printing funds.
According to the administration' s interpretation of RA 9184, all fees
collected by the university are government funds – including the
Collegian's funds. Under this false assumption, the UP administration
insists that the bidding and selection of the publication' s printing
press be facilitated not by the Collegian editorial board, but by
the administration itself.
However, the Collegian firmly
asserts that it is exempt from RA 9184. It is not a government unit, as it
is funded only by the students. Moreover, the Campus Journalism Act of
1991 stipulates that the editorial board should facilitate the selection
of the publication' s printing press. The administration' s sole task is
to collect the publication fee during registration, and thereafter give
full discretion of handling of Collegian fund to the duly selected
editorial board. The administration may not intervene in any of the
publication' s operations.
In response to the Collegian's
arguments against RA 9184, the UP administration continues to deny the
institution of its right to bidding autonomy. In our dialogues, the
administration even questions the publication' s "independence" as basis
for its exemption from the particular law.
We, from the
Collegian, cannot accept this kind of reasoning. To allow the
Collegian to subject itself to RA 9184 is tantamount to surrendering
its autonomy as a student institution. Even now that the publication' s
inclusion in the law is still in question, the UP administration is
withholding the publication' s printing fund to coerce the Collegian
to submission. Such is why the previous Collegian issues were
delayed, while pending issues have not been printed. RA 9184 thus
compromises the publication' s fiscal autonomy.
Moreover, allowing the Collegian
to be subjected to RA 9184 would set a precedent for the UP administration
to thereafter inflict the same law and intervene in the operations of
publications and other student institutions in all UP units. In fact, the
UP Diliman University Student Council (USC) publication Oblation is
also being subjected to this law.
We from the Collegian view the
administration' s insistence to subject the publication to RA 9184 as an
assault against the publication' s autonomy. We call on the administration
to recognize fully the independence of the Collegian as a student
publication. We demand that the administration uphold the Collegian's
fiscal autonomy, specifically its right to facilitate the bidding process.
The Collegian is accountable only
to the students, who are its sole publishers. Thus, we call on all
students to protect the autonomy of the publication. This issue is a clear
manifestation of administration intervention, and a direct attack on
campus press freedom.
Uphold the Collegian's autonomy!
Defend campus press
freedom!
Protect the
independence of all student institutions and organizations!
(The Philippine
Collegian is the official student publication of UP in Diliman, Quezon
City. It carries the tradition of fighting for freedom of expression and
academic freedom and was in fact the first legal newspaper to oppose the
Marcos dictatorship when all other newspapers, radio and TV stations were
either closed down or were muzzled by military censorship. – Bulatlat)
Posted by Bulatlat
BACK TO TOP ■
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION ■
COMMENT
© 2006 Bulatlat
■ Alipato Publications
Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.