Report by Nina Pineda
Silliman students denounced the University’s decision to open its gymnasium for the Regional Peace and Order Council Meeting with local government officials of Region VII led by President Rodrigo Duterte last May 24.
Graduate student and Kabataan Para sa Karapatan (KPK) Negros Oriental lead convener Alia Abadia slammed the hypocrisy of Duterte’s claims that he is appalled at the series of killings in Negros Oriental.
“From the implementation of MO32 which increased military and police presence in the island, to his pronouncements of “shoot them dead”, Duterte has been the instigator and mastermind of the violent rhetoric and policies which have clearly resulted in increased human rights violations in the country,” Abadia says.
According to Abadia, if Duterte was truly sincere about punishing the culprits, he should start with PNP Chief Debold Sinas, under whom the massacre of Negrosanons occurred due to SEMPO 1 and 2.
“To be completely neutral, as Duterte says he is, already shows his true colors: being neutral means not siding with the oppressed, and therefore not siding with justice,” Abadia adds.
Silliman alumnus Rey Sy also lambasted the University’s silence with regards to the human rights violations under the Duterte regime.
“This silence has enabled the murderous Duterte to embolden other murderers in the province to just kill anyone anytime. Silliman’s neutrality has claimed the lives of many Negrenses,” Sy also says.
He also cited Harry Roque’s designation as a visiting teacher at the College of Law, Bato dela Rosa’s invitation as a resource speaker, the surveillance of students who hold rallies against the anti-terror law as evidence of the University’s complicity.
Current Silliman University Student Government President Jose Paolo Echavez also questioned the existing relationship between the university and the government as to permit such a visit. He claimed he had never seen any other school host a government meeting until Silliman.
“This same university had Harry Roque teach a few classes in the College of Law,” adds Echavez.
The student government president also mentioned that students in Silliman have been organizing demonstrations, ecumenical services, petitions, and peaceful rallies denouncing the human rights violations under this regime.
In light of the recent visit, Echavez asks, “Do the students still have a safe space to organize and dissent?”
Meanwhile, a representative of the Silliman student body urged the University to sort out its priorities and focus on the calls of their constituents, particularly about vaccination, added benefits for teachers, and the adoption of the revised Open and Distance Learning guidelines.
The representative questioned the necessity of the physical meeting inside the campus, considering there is a surge of COVID cases in Dumaguete City.
“Why would they open their gates to some officials who have been leading a deadly drug war, killing thousands of mostly poor Filipinos, and silencing dissenters?,” the representative says.
Among those who attended the meeting were Senator Bong Go, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, and PNP Chief Police General Guillermo Eleazar.
The meeting was held to discuss peace and security matters in Central Visayas.
After terminating the ongoing peace talks with the National Democratic Front last 2017, the Duterte regime intensified its whole-of-nation approach against insurgency.
Through the implementation of Memorandum 32, Duterte declared Bicol, Samar, and Negros Island in a “state of lawless violence” and thus deployed scores of police and military elements in the areas.
Consequently, state-sponsored killings have increased all over Negros Island, with majority of the victims coming from farmers and the peasantry. Since then, the death toll of peasants rose to 295.
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Photos grabbed from Bong Go’s Facebook page
Paghimutad 