Hundreds of youth and students led by the League of Filipino Students (LFS) are geared up for student strikes and walkouts for a “strike week” from Sept. 17-21 next week in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of Martial Law. Together with youth organizations like Anakbayan, Karatula, Student Christian Movement of the Philippines, National Union of Students of the Philippines, and Kabataan Partylist, the LFS will launch widespread protests against the repression of their right to education and other human rights under the Aquino administration.
The strikes aim to reiterate the LFS’ call for the junking of the Education Act of 1982, which according to the group paves the way for further commercialization of education. The act was signed by former president and dictator Marcos.
“With the Education Act of 1982 still in place, the state of Philippine education remains the same it was under Marcos. Rising tuition and miscellaneous fees continue to deny the youth of their right to education,” says LFS Vice Chairperson Joaquin Sienes III.
Sienes points out how tuition hikes defeat the purpose of state universities and colleges (SUCs) to provide accessible quality education to Filipinos. In the University of the Philippines (UP), a recent re-bracketing scheme raised the tuition to P1,500/unit from the P1,000/unit since the tuition fee increase in 2007. Meanwhile, students of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) are faced with an additional P500-miscellaneous fee.
The LFS held a protest action in PUP-Sta. Mesa last Tuesday to condemn the 30 years of the act which coincided with the group’s 35th anniversary.
The group also noted how Aquino violates not just the youth’s right to education but also other human rights.
“Student leaders and activists have always been victims of harassment and surveillance by the military since the time of Marcos and still are under Aquino. More than a hundred political killings have been recorded, while cases of enforced disappearances, torture, and other human rights violations continue to rise,” says Sienes.
The youth leader remarked on the irony of someone coming from a family of supposedly victims of Martial Law committing the same atrocities by Marcos.
“Aquino’s administration so far has been a de facto martial law. Just like the mass movement occupied the streets to bring down the oppressive Marcos rule, so should the youth and the Filipino people continue to protest and advance their struggle for their democratic rights,” says Sienes. ###
The strikes aim to reiterate the LFS’ call for the junking of the Education Act of 1982, which according to the group paves the way for further commercialization of education. The act was signed by former president and dictator Marcos.
“With the Education Act of 1982 still in place, the state of Philippine education remains the same it was under Marcos. Rising tuition and miscellaneous fees continue to deny the youth of their right to education,” says LFS Vice Chairperson Joaquin Sienes III.
Sienes points out how tuition hikes defeat the purpose of state universities and colleges (SUCs) to provide accessible quality education to Filipinos. In the University of the Philippines (UP), a recent re-bracketing scheme raised the tuition to P1,500/unit from the P1,000/unit since the tuition fee increase in 2007. Meanwhile, students of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) are faced with an additional P500-miscellaneous fee.
The LFS held a protest action in PUP-Sta. Mesa last Tuesday to condemn the 30 years of the act which coincided with the group’s 35th anniversary.
The group also noted how Aquino violates not just the youth’s right to education but also other human rights.
“Student leaders and activists have always been victims of harassment and surveillance by the military since the time of Marcos and still are under Aquino. More than a hundred political killings have been recorded, while cases of enforced disappearances, torture, and other human rights violations continue to rise,” says Sienes.
The youth leader remarked on the irony of someone coming from a family of supposedly victims of Martial Law committing the same atrocities by Marcos.
“Aquino’s administration so far has been a de facto martial law. Just like the mass movement occupied the streets to bring down the oppressive Marcos rule, so should the youth and the Filipino people continue to protest and advance their struggle for their democratic rights,” says Sienes. ###
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