Youth groups hit Duterte on ‘false promise’ of free education

Youth groups hit Duterte on ‘false promise’ of free education

By: Ed Margareth Barahan - @inquirerdotnet

INQUIRER.net / 03:10 PM December 28, 2016

Student groups on Wednesday criticized President Rodrigo Duterte for his false promise of free education following his recent statements which reversed previous pronouncements warranting free tuition in state universities and colleges (SUCs).
“Limiting free tuition for ‘poor and qualified’ students puts undue burden on the part of students in exercising their right to education,” Rara Ada of Sanlakas Youth said in a statement.
“Distorting the recently passed law ensuring free tuition in SUCs through its implementing rules betrays the promise of free tertiary education flaunted by the Duterte administration and its allies in the Congress,” she added.

Ada also said this burdened only underprivileged students who wished to pursue their tertiary education in SUCs because they would still have to prove they were “poor enough” to be eligible for free tuition.

“What is being flaunted as a progressive step in ensuring tertiary education as a right to be accessed by those who choose to is really just a deceptive mechanism in justifying the increase of tuition and other fees, as those who were considered unqualified for free tuition are deemed rich enough to cope with higher fees,” she said.
“If the President is serious in his promise of delivering change, he must do so by prioritizing the SixWillFix Bill as urgent, ensuring that free quality education will not suffer from arbitrary changes, nor be subjected to annual competition with other parts of the national budget,” Zaira Baniaga of Kaisa-UP said.
The SixWillFix is a legislation that aims to ensure the automatic appropriation of six percent of the country’s gross national product to the budget for education. The bill aims to ensure free education in all levels without having its quality and accessibility suffer, and it also targets fair wages for teachers and workers and quality facilities for students.
The said bill has been lobbied in both houses of the Congress.
“The right to education in all levels by all citizens is not up for debate,” Baniaga said.
“If the President believes in investing in the country’s future, he must not be among those who stand in the way of free education,” she added.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/857414/youth-groups-hit-duterte-on-false-promise-of-free-education#ixzz4U9QTDGHE

REPOST: There’s More to It Than Meets The Eye: Full Statement of the Sanlakas Coalition on the Davao Blast and the State of Lawlessness

Sanlakas condemns in the strongest possible terms the bombing that rocked Davao City last September 2, 2016 snatching the lives of 14 and wounding 67 others. The Davao blast is an affront to humanity, a barbaric assault that should prod us to mobilize against the killing of peoples for whatever cause. Justice should be served to all victims. We should tremble with indignation against such dastardly acts committed to sow terror.
But we should not lose sight of the forces at play. The Abu Sayyaf Group, whose radical Muslim members were trained by the Central Intelligence of America (CIA) and enlisted in the Afghan War of the mid 1980s side by side with Osama bin Laden, was formed in 1989. It has since then been tagged as culprit behind attacks and bombings including kidnappings. Then former Senator Aquilino Pimentel in his speech before the Senate in 2000 was correct in pointing out that the CIA has sired a monster.
The monster is now being played up as one would a bogeyman in reminding Philippine Administrations of the country’s vulnerability to “terrorist attacks”. In 2003, the Philippines threw its support to the US-led War of Terror. Sanlakas cannot help but surmise the location of the “bogeyman” in the upcoming meeting between President Rodrigo Duterte and US President Barrack Obama in Laos – to secure the unwavering commitment of the Duterte Administration in the War.
At the Laos meeting, Sanlakas expects that the two leaders would also talk about the territorial dispute in the South East Asian Seas where despite the recent ruling recognizing the Philippines’ claim against China, no aggressive pronouncement has been issued by the Duterte Government against the latter.
There is more to the blast than meets the eyes. And in the context of the on-going peace talks between the MILF-MNLF and GRPh, there is more to lose than gain by stoking anti-Moro sentiments or attributing blame on the Moros. This may not be the case now but given our collective stereotypes and historical biases against our Moro brothers and sisters, Sanlakas cautions the public against the evils that paranoia can create that could blind reason, that could derail the fragile peace process that seeks to reaffirm the right of the Moros to self-determination.
Sanlakas likewise cautions the Duterte Administration in approaching the Davao blast sans the overarching realities that have defined the country’s geopolitical landscape.
While the calling out powers of the President has been deemed the most benign of all powers under the Section 18, Article 7 of the Philippine Constitution, its execution leaves much room to fret. The state of lawlessness allows the president to call on the mighty Armed Forces on the pretext of assisting law enforcement agencies to address lawless violence. This in itself could result in the militarization of our cities, of our neighborhoods, of our barangays to ward off the proverbial bogeyman.
This could result in the militarization of the President’s War on Drugs. Like skating on thin ice, this could open the floodgates to more human rights violations as a consequence of the excesses in resorting to a military solution to the Davao blast.
We call on President Duterte to be mindful not to fall into the trap of the War of Terror which has in many ways than one invaded the rights of peoples yet failed to stamp out acts of terror. We urge the President to hold the perpetrators of the Davao blast to account and serve justice where it is due.
Justice to the victims of the Davao blast!
No to the US-led War of Terror!
Respect the people’s rights!

https://www.facebook.com/Sanlakas14/posts/832782533525010

Thousands protest planned Marcos burial in the Libingan ng mga Bayani

Around 5,000 people (not "hundreds" as the network GMA reported) under a rainy Sunday morning attended a protest gathering against the planned burial of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes' Cemetery) next month.

The mobilization, which organizers called a "Citizens' Assembly," is the first major protest act against a decision being pushed by President Rodrigo Duterte. However, the event did not tackle human rights issues, but stuck with the Marcos burial problem.

The protesters, mostly wearing white, did not leave their places in front of the giant Lapu-Lapu monument despite brief moments of heavy downpour. The program began at around 9:30 and lasted for two hours.

The protesters listened as guest speakers narrated first-hand stories of torture they experienced under the Marcos regime. The speakers -- artists, economists, activists, academics, politicians -- debunked common misconceptions such as the supposed "Golden Years" experienced during the Marcos era, which they said is not supported by the facts. They said burying Marcos at the Libingan would send the "wrong message" about what the Marcos era was all about.

The atmosphere was marked by simplicity as people listened to speeches, with the occasional cheering and jeering as speakers asked the crowd whether they thought Marcos was indeed a "hero." Older folks also relived their times as activists during the Martial Law years.

Some of the speakers were Walden Bello, Joel Lamangan, Riza Hontiveros-Baraquel, Teddy Baguilat, Aida Santos, Leila de Lima and former Senator Wigberto Tanada.

Among the leftist organizations present that brought contingents were Sanlakas and Partido Lakas ng Masa. The mobilization was initiated by the Coalition Against the Marcos Burial in Libingan Ng Mga Bayani.