SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER IS FUNDAMENTAL TO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: Revoke the suspension of UST students and activists!
The Asia Pacific Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (APCHRP) vehemently condemns the University of Santo Tomas (UST) administration for suspending four student activists who staged a protest against the Philippine Air Force (PAF) on campus. The suspended activists are Raven Raceles, Ralph Manuel, Mecaella Capalar, and Dex Frogoso. Capalar was also removed from her position as Public Relations Officer of the UST Central Student Council and was reportedly denied a Certificate of Good Moral Character.
These punitive measures constitute a blatant attack on academic freedom, freedom of expression, and the fundamental rights of students. Universities have a responsibility to foster critical thinking, encourage open political discourse, and uphold the right of students to question authority and challenge injustice. Instead of nurturing critical and socially conscious individuals, the UST administration has chosen to punish young people who dare to speak out and fight for justice. Such actions undermine the very purpose of education and turn academic institutions into instruments of repression.
The four Thomasian activists staged their protest against the PAF to condemn its attacks on rural communities, the killing of peasants, and the destruction of people’s livelihoods. Their protest was a legitimate and necessary act of solidarity with communities bearing the brunt of militarization and counterinsurgency operations. The long record of human rights violations attributed to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), including the PAF, makes their protest all the more justified. Rather than silencing those who expose these abuses, universities should uphold their students’ right to raise their voices against state violence and stand with oppressed communities.
According to KARAPATAN, counterinsurgency operations have resulted in 49,459 people being subjected to forced evacuation and 59,284 victims of bombing. These figures underscore the devastating human cost of militarization and state violence against rural communities. Instead of examining the reasons behind the students’ protest and recognizing the legitimate grievances of affected communities, the UST administration has taken punitive action against the protesters, effectively shielding the military from criticism and lending credibility to an institution accused of carrying out aerial bombings and strafing operations in the countryside.
The suppression of student activism at UST is not an isolated incident. Student activists have long faced show-cause orders over alleged violations of university codes of conduct. Reports of campus security personnel monitoring students and confiscating informational materials exposing abuses under the Marcos Jr. administration further raise serious concerns about the systematic restriction of political expression within the university. The PAF’s reported denial of any involvement in the imposition of the suspensions does not absolve the UST administration of its responsibility for the punitive actions taken against its own students.
These developments reflect a broader pattern of repression within Philippine educational institutions shaped by a colonial, commercialized, and fascist orientation that prioritizes the interests of foreign powers, particularly the United States, and the ruling elite over the rights and welfare of the people. Instead of empowering students to think critically, question injustice, and contribute to social transformation, such institutions seek to cultivate obedience and political passivity. They condition young people to become docile workers who accept exploitation and remain silent in the face of wrongdoing.
APCHRP stands in firm solidarity with Raven Raceles, Ralph Manuel, Mecaella Capalar, and Dex Frogoso, as well as with the broader student movement resisting repression and defending academic freedom. We recognize their courage in exercising their rights, using their critical faculties, and challenging the injustices perpetrated by the US-backed Marcos Jr. regime and the country’s military forces. Their actions demonstrate that students have a vital role in exposing human rights violations, defending democratic rights, and advancing the struggles of oppressed and marginalized communities.
APCHRP demands that the UST administration immediately revoke the unjust suspensions, reinstate Mecaella Capalar to her position in the UST Central Student Council, and cease all punitive measures that infringe upon the students’ academic and political rights. We further demand an end to the surveillance, intimidation, and suppression of student activists, as well as the confiscation of political and educational materials on campus. We call on the UST administration to respect students’ freedom of expression and uphold academic freedom,
