N.B. – This is the statement of CONTEND on the USC elections at UP Diliman. I post this on my blog as I fully support it. Disclosure: I have been part of CONTEND since I became a full-time faculty member in 2001.

We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor,
never the victim… Sometimes we must interfere…
Wherever men and women are persecuted…
that place must – at that moment – become the center of the universe.
– Elie Wiesel

CONTEND Statement on the 2013 University Student Council Elections

February 20, 2013

The Congress of Teachers/Educators for Nationalism and Democracy calls upon the entire UP studentry to actively engage in the University Student Council Elections 2013. The USC Elections takes but a brief, two-week period in the Academic Year for students to examine critical issues in the University and in society in general; to forge solidarity with fellow students in responding to the call of the times; to be socially responsible — to be active critics and movers for progressive change.

There is a clear need to establish a strong and unified USC in the face of pressing issues within and outside the University. The instituted Socialized Tuition Fee Assistance Program (STFAP), which condones the treatment of tertiary education as a private good than a social service, continues to place the burden of subsidizing education from the state to private citizens. This scheme, wherein the “richer” students’ higher tuition fees subsidize the “poorer” students’ education, in effect, condones state abandonment of public education. Once education is posited as a private good that is accessible to and, hence, benefits only the individual who can afford to buy “quality” education, service to the people (previously the Iskolar ng Bayan’s central credo) becomes but a mere choice rather than a social responsibility. This has resulted in the arbitrary division of “service” and “profession,” where the latter reduces the notion of “progress” to individualist careerism.

Consequently, student involvement in pertinent social issues is eroded, the Iskolar ng Bayan losing the capacity to recognize how the larger society impacts upon the UP studentry. While the destruction of the coral reefs in Tubbataha clearly points to the abrogation of our national sovereignty by the US imperialist power, the wanton violation is legitimized by the Visiting Forces Agreement and other neoliberal policies implemented by the state. In fact, the estimation of damages to the reef is to be determined by the US Attorney-General — proof that the much-flaunted Philippine-US relations is but a smokescreen for the imperialist masters’ continuing subjugation of the Filipinos. Meanwhile, the rampant violation of human rights continues with impunity. To attract foreign investors such as big mining companies, the state permits the destruction of its own people’s ancestral domains. To maintain its power, the state resorts to extrajudicial killings and military harassment. To date, there remains over 340 political prisoners in the Philippines, including UP film student and activist Maricon Montajes. Since 2001, there have been more than two thousand cases of extrajudicial killings, 129 of which were committed during the Aquino administration and the majority of which are indigenous peoples and peasants. At present, there are more than two hundred cases of enforced disappearances, amongst which are UP students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno, who have been illegally detained by the military since 2006.

Notably, during the time of Martial Law, the USC Elections were suspended to prevent the students from standing up against the oppressive regime. This goes to show that the University Elections is a crucial platform for students to take on a proactive stance in the perpetual construction of alternatives. As the student-leaders of previous generations have fought for their rights, so the UP students of today must take up the cudgels and forge solidarity with the political party that has consistently fought at the frontlines of social struggle while sustaining the groundwork without the affectations of personality politics and fakery.

We respectfully urge the Iskolars ng Bayan to stand up to traditional politics and never allow redecorated, watered-down discourses to define political engagement in UP. Instead of riding on the success and media blitz of campaigns which have already been passed into law — such as the RH Bill and the Sin Tax Bill — more importantly, the Iskolar ng Bayan must take part in relevant issues that can still be pushed at different levels, through unified, collective action. The USC stands as a representation of the ideals of the Iskolar ng Bayan: one that stands up, stands firm, and stands with the students.

The studentry must forge solidarity with the political party that has consistently fought for democratic and participatory governance , for  students’ rights, as a major sector and stakeholder of the university, to actively participate and be part of decision-making, policy reform and governance. A political party that has not been afraid to be critical of and offer alternatives to university policies and programs that adversely impact on/violate the rights and welfare of the students deserves the opportunity to serve the University.
The chance to serve the University under these times of state abandonment, undermining of national sovereignty, and violence with impunity must be given to those who know their rights and are unafraid to fight for them; to those who stand unruffled against repressive administrative policies; to those who draw the sharpest line and do not concede at the slightest obstacle.

Exercise your right to vote! VIE FOR 100% COMMITMENT, 100% VOTERS’ TURNOUT!