PUP president withdraws case vs student leaders

MANILA, Philippines - Citing humanitarian reasons during Lent, Polytechnic University of the Philippines president Dante Guevarra yesterday forgave and dropped the charges of robbery with threat and intimidation they filed before the Manila Prosecutor’s Office against five student leaders of PUP, who allegedly took chairs during a protest action inside the campus Wednesday.

“Practicing the principle of participative management since it was established in 1904, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines arrived at a decision of dropping its case against the five student-detainees who were charged of robbery with threat and intimidation by the Manila Prosecutors’ Office and were required to pay the bail amounting to P100,000 each.

They are Patrick Michael Canela, Judy Anne Fabito, Abriel Masilungan, Cheysser Soriano, and Ferrin Louise Umagat,” said Guevarra in a statement issued.

Guevarra said after a series of consultations with the management and other stakeholders of the university coupled with long hours of personal contemplation, he arrived at a decision of veering away from what may just be considered a symptom – mass actions resulting to the detention of five students, and focusing instead on the very ailment that infects the whole academic system in the country – that of the lack of budget provided to the education sector, the State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) included, he said.

“I saw clearly that the symptomatic detention of our students is definitely not the answer to our problem. And a number of considerations had to factor in – economic crisis, social disintegration, education cost, man-hour loss, and renewal. I saw the fact that they are students undergoing hardships in life who have to be given the chance to be renewed for them to be able to finish their education,” he said.

As an educator himself, Guevarra said he firmly believes in the wisdom behind loco parentis, a universal principle in education which invokes that the head of an academic institution could outrightly discipline his/her students. “In the same token, I, PUP president, applied such principle having been entrusted with the responsibility of a father who should discipline his students. As such, I consider our students my children – children who are being disciplined are now being pardoned,” Guevarra said.

Guevarra said the answer to their problem is not detention. It is the right amount of budget to run a century-old university with 62,000-strong student population taught and managed by 3,700 faculty members and administrative employees. “I stand by my conviction that PUP needs additional budget for it to realize its dream of becoming a total university. That conviction of mine does not change until now. I trust that the Commission on Higher Education also stands by its words of support to move for the budget increase of PUP,” he said.

“As we are on the final phase of the Lenten season, the message of the Lord in yesterday’s Gospel talks of Christ’s modeling, sacrifice and forgiveness. I am giving my little share to heed to what the Lord wants us to do – by modeling the virtue of respect for authority, by sacrificing and abandoning what I know and feel is the right thing to do; and by forgiving those who may have wronged and offended the university and its stakeholders. I pray that others do their share too,” said Guevarra.

In related developments, the board of regents has issued yesterday a resolution rejecting any imposition of tuition fee hikes for the coming academic year 2010-11. – With Nestor Etolle, Rainier Allan Ronda