LSG Statement on the Dec. 15 incident and USC Statement
STATEMENT ON THE DECEMBER 15, 2006 INCIDENT AT MALCOLM HALL
Last December 15, 2005, a group of UP students with strong anti-tuition fee increase sentiments, barged through the doors of Malcolm Hall, in search of members of the University of the Philippines Board of Regents. The group was headed by the Student Regent, and the University Student Council. Such students verbally assaulted members of the UP Law Student Government and the UP Law community who were at that time peacefully preparing for “Malcolm Madness”, the College’s Christmas program. In the attempt to find the regents, these students harassed practically everyone who was foreign to them including the UP Law Center staff, the UP Law Personnel and fellow UP students. They were hurling accusations such as, “Tinatago n’yo sila!” “Niloko n’yo kami!” “Bakit n’yo kami pinagtatagksilan?!” at the members UP Law community who were in sight. During the height of turmoil, a student of the College was pushed to the door of the Malcolm Theater in her attempt to ward off the rallyists from entering the Theater, wherein there were students preparing for the College program; a handful of other students were likewise emotionally traumatized. It was only after a five-minute, initially adversarial dialogue between the Student Regent and the Law Student Government President that the angry crowd was asked by their leaders to turn around and leave. Unfortunately, however, the injury had already been inflicted. Aside from emotional and physical injuries, the mob ultimately left the college with property damaged, specifically the door of Malcolm Hall and the Malcolm driveway was splashed with red paint. Furthermore, the “Malcolm Madness” was cancelled for the first time since its inception, causing losses for equipment rentals and decoration costs on the part of the UP Law students and the UP Law Student Government.It is understandable that these students may have had strong sentiments against the Tuition Fee Increase issue. After all, they are entitled to express their vehement objections to the Board of Regents in accordance with their constitutional right to free speech and expression. However such forms of expression are never justifications to trample on others’ rights to safety of their persons and property.
Thus, it is with a heavy heart that we, the Law Student Government, condemn this chaotic incident initiated by our fellow UP students. We believe that their acts have crossed the borderline of freedom of expression as it tramples on propriety, ethics and any notion of reason. We have no choice but to respond accordingly – as of all institutions, the UP College of Law and the UP Law student Government will not tolerate exploits of such kind. In verbally and physically hurting other people and destroying property, these acts are no less than criminal.
We hold the Student Regent responsible for inciting this mob and leading it into our college with no sense of direction or restraint according to the purpose by which it was gathered. We implead him primarily for being the proximate cause of the incident, without regard for those who do not share his agenda.
We hold the members of the University Student Council responsible, most especially the USC Chair, according to the principle of command responsibility. The Chair was not present during the incident; the members of the USC who were in attendance did nothing to pacify the crowd during the height of chaos. We deem that they should have reasonably anticipated such consequences when a group of extremely emotionally charged individuals rally: chaos will definitely result from the mob rule - despite lack of premeditated ill intentions to inflict harm on others.
As veterans of mass action protests, the Student Regent and the University Student Council should have foreseen harmful results and consequently formulated and implemented proactive safeguards to avoid or minimize them. The damages caused by these acts of omission were not rectified by belated measures to make the crowd turn back. Such conduct of the USC betrays the very office that they occupy. Beyond advocacies, the primary accountability of the USC belongs to the UP populace, whose safety, welfare and well-being they ought to have upheld - whichever side of the fence the constituent-students sit in an issue.
We, too, in the UP Law Student Government, are scholars of the people. Like every UP Student, we are being educated to become productive members of society who are reflective of the ideals of the nation. We believe that the UP student has brilliant ideas and opinions, which have to be voiced out in a reasonable manner. Thus do we champion the spirit of activism, one of the forces for which our University is distinctly renowned. It is in this spirit that we, ourselves, participate in various rallies, fora and social action in the midst of various issues of public interest. Yet, we condemn riotous and anarchical modes of activism. No matter how noble the purpose or ends of a rally, mutinous styles of mass action will NEVER be justified, especially when they infringe on others’ safety of their persons and property. Though we, ourselves, are activists in our own right, we will never allow activism to cast a dark shadow on the conduct and character of the UP students.
We, in the UP College of Law, denounce the December 15, 2005 incident in Malcolm Hall. We deem that it is only just and equitable that those at its helm be held responsible for its outcome. We condemn all types and kinds of abuses of the spirit of activism, which has been enshrined in the history of our university. Relentlessly, we will cling to our bias for order, propriety and the rule of law.
Christina Faye M. Condez
President
Lorybeth R. Baldrias
Vice-President
Faustina Victoria E. Ochoa
Secretary
Hardy B. Aquende
Treasurer
Elgene Lawrence C. Feliciano
Public Relations Officer
Leandro Angelo Y. Aguirre
College Representative
USC statement in response to the LSG
Last December 15, 2006, the Board of Regents railroaded the passage
of the 300% increase in tuition and other fees. This illegitimate
BOR, without the two most important regents, the Student and Faculty
regents, approved the ToFI inside Malcolm Hall. Led by Pres. Roman,
the UP administration changed the venue in the last minute citing
reports that students and faculty have barricaded Quezon Hall and
prevented them from conducting their meeting. The students and
faculty led by the Student Regent and the USC marched towards
Malcolm Hall to assert that the BOR holds its meeting in the
presence of the students. Unfortunately the students were prohibited
from entering the building and even the student regent was not
allowed to enter Malcolm Hall.
When the crowd got unconfirmed reports that the illegitimate BOR
railroaded the passage of the ToFI, the students decided to
militantly assert entry inside Malcolm Hall. As the students
searched for the venue of the BOR meeting, the crowd thought that
the meeting was being conducted inside the Malcolm Theater.
Let it be clear that the USC apologizes to the student who was
allegedly "pushed" by the students; it is not the intention of the
crowd to hurt anybody not even the traitors in the BOR and the
oppressive UP admin. Definitely, no plans or commands to hurt
anybody or destroy any property were implemented. From the start,
organizers and participants of the mass action knew that any move
that would trigger chaos would not be beneficial to the students. On
the contrary, the UP admin could just use these acts to label some
students as terrorists and divide the students. Such divisiveness
would be quite advantageous to those who want the tuition increase
proposal passed.
Some statements made by the LSG need to be answered and clarified.
It is not true that the USC chair was not present inside Malcolm
Hall. The USC chair was there, and in fact he was the one who
commanded the crowd to go outside when it was clear that the BOR had
already escaped. When USC chair Paolo Alfonso saw that the Student
Regent and a student of the College of Law were already clearing
things up, he saw no need to participate in their discussion and he
deemed it more necessary to pacify the students and then lead them
outside.
It is also untrue that members of the USC present did nothing to
pacify the emotions of the students. As a matter of fact, College of
Education representative Vanessa Faye Bolibol was calming the
students using the portable public address system while standing in
one of the elevated structures outside Malcolm Theatre.
What is disturbing is the LSG's notion of holding protest actions or
rallies. In its statement, it automatically surmised that all
rallies with high emotions will ultimately lead to mob rule. Let it
be clear that despite the very high emotions of the students who
attended the protest action that day, there were no instances that
the students could be described as an angry mob.
All in all, we are just the same victims of the UP admin's deceitful
and treacherous maneuvers just to have its way of advancing UP
commercialization. First, the UP Admin attempted to prevent mass
actions last December 15, it created its own terror scare and
cancelled the yearly Lantern Parade. It then tried to pin the blame
on the faculty and students holding the protest action in Quezon
Hall. It is of no surprise then that the LSG statement, seemingly
towing the line of the UP admin would land right in the UP Diliman
Webpage.
Just recently, the UP admin through Vice President Marvic Leonen
tries to spread half-truths just to discredit the students who
oppose the tuition increase. In a text message, the UP admin even
tries to revive old issues like the egg pelting of Hello Garci
General Esperon just to project militant students as rowdy and
dangerous. The UP admin, in order to hide its devious schemes, even
pits students against fellow students.
The LSG as fellow activists together with the rest of the UP
Community should stand together to denounce and condemn the
railroading of the tuition and other fee increases. We should hold
the UP admin responsible for disregarding the right of the Student
and Faculty Regents to participate in the BOR meeting. This sham BOR
trampled all notions of order, propriety and rule of law in its
effort to eliminate all opposition to its grand design to
commercialize UP. Furthermore, the LSG together with the rest of the
UP Community should fight the intensifying efforts of the UP admin
to further divide the UP students.
Thus, we enjoin the LSG and the entire UP Community to be one with
us in the quest to overturn this illegitimate, sham, and anti-
student action of Dr.Roman and her Board of Regents. Let it not be
said that, at this very crucial point in history, the UP Admin
succeeded in dividing us when our unity is needed the most.
(Tang inang USC yan, trying to shift the blame to the admin. Sinisiraan pa si Leonen. Putang ina, eh akala ko ba, like, may apat na USC councillors na taga law? (John Fajardo, Chessa Baltazar, Robert Ty and Roy Cervantes). Anong ginawa nila tungkol diyan? They supported the writing of this USC statement? What about our law representative, Dino Aguirre? Wala ba siyang sinabi diyan sa USC? At di ba taga law din ang USC Vice-Chair, si Jill Santos?
SHAME ON ALL OF YOU.
posted by lawintheblandmanner @ 3:34 PM
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