I am not exactly a fan of DBM Secretary Butch Abad. If I have the chance to question him face to face, I will come prepared with lots of numbers and data, but will never do or plan any physical harm. Unfortunately, emotionalism, violence and stupidity has ruled the minds of some idiot activists in UP. Shame on you, mga bobo. If you dislike
a person or his/her ideas, hit hard on data and logic, never do physical
attacks. The use of physical attacks is among the indicators of mentally sick
people.
Reposting this. The photos I added myself and not part of the original statement.
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Statement from Faculty Members
of the University of the Philippines
School of Economics
We deplore in the strongest terms the violence
perpetrated last Wednesday, September 17, by a group of protesters against
Secretary Florencio B. Abad outside the U.P. School of Economics auditorium.
Secretary Abad was leaving a just-concluded forum organized
by the University Student Council. His way to a waiting vehicle, however, was
blocked several times by protesters, who not only shouted slogans and
invectives—par for the course at U.P.—but actually assaulted him by throwing
placards and metal coins and physically laying hold of him, grabbing his
clothing to prevent him from leaving.
What is worse, some student “leaders” thought nothing of
gloating about the incident and celebrating their hooliganism in mainstream and
social media, as if it were some kind of victory. This incident is not a
victory but a blow to UP’s honor.
By participating in these events the protesters have
declared themselves enemies, not of Secretary Abad, but of the University
itself. As an invited guest, Secretary Abad was covered by the same blanket of
academic freedom and safe passage that the University guarantees to all who set
foot on campus. The purpose of that high privilege is to guarantee a free
traffic in diverse ideas—and of the diverse people who espouse them—which is
the lifeblood of a liberal academic institution. Those who violate that
security and privilege by resorting to physical threats and violence sow
apprehension and fear among bearers of contrary and unfashionable ideas, who
would henceforth shy away from participating in the University, resulting in an
impoverishment of intellectual life and a reduction of debate to a monologue
among the already-converted.
The acts of Wednesday’s protesters, therefore, not only
violated decency and courtesy, they were an assault on the University itself.
To remove this blot on the University’s reputation:
We enjoin those who participated in the dishonorable
events of last Wednesday—but who were possibly misled or sincerely unaware of
the gravity of their acts—to come forward, own up to their participation, and
proffer a public apology to Secretary Abad and to the University.
We call upon the University Student Council and other
student organizations responsible for organizing the event to publicly
dissociate themselves from the actions of Wednesday’s hooligans;
We enjoin the University authorities to begin an inquiry
to identify those ultimately responsible for the violence, and who cynically
staged the incident, applying penalties, wherever necessary;
We call on the University authorities henceforth to
enhance the security provided to invited visitors of the University to prevent
a repeat of the said incident.
Finally, we call for a renewed discussion and
clarification among faculty, staff and students, of the University’s unwritten
rules of free speech and safe passage, to ensure that the University remains a
free and fearless field for ideas, where debates are won not by assault but by
argument, not by shouting down but by speaking up.
SIGNED
Prof. Rosa M. Alonso i Terme
Prof. Maria Joy V. Abrenica
Prof. Ruperto P. Alonzo
Prof. Agustin L. Arcenas
Prof. Romeo Matthew T. Balanquit
Prof. Joseph J. Capuno
Prof. Fidelina N. Carlos
Prof. Ramon L. Clarete
Prof. Rolando A. Danao
Prof. Sarah Lynne S. Daway
Prof. Emmanuel S. de Dios
Prof. Emmanuel F. Esguerra
Prof. Raul V. Fabella
Prof. Aleli D. Kraft
Prof. Cielo D. Magno
Prof. Maria Nimfa F. Mendoza
Prof. Solita Collas-Monsod
Prof. Toby Melissa C. Monsod
Prof. Marjorie C. Pajaron
Prof. Stella Luz A. Quimbo
Prof. Majah-Leah V. Ravago
Prof. Renato E. Reside
Prof. Gerardo P. Sicat
