Palace vows to look into standoff in Cotabato school, says ex-gov
NORTH COTABATO , Philippines – Malacañang has given assurance that it would attend to the clamor of thousands of students displaced by the standoff between the president of the University of Southern Mindanao (USM) and a group of protesters seeking his ouster.
Most students of USM, located in Kabacan town in the first district of North Cotabato, have not been able to enter the campus since classes reopened two weeks ago due to the presence of picketers at the university gates, armed with stones, wooden clubs with spikes, and machetes.
The protesters have been seeking the relief of USM president Jesus Antonio Derije since early this year. They first picketed at the USM’s main gate about four months ago and have since been preventing the entry of students and teachers.
Former North Cotabato governor Emmanuel Piñol, an alumnus of USM, said President Aquino responded positively to his text message last Thursday requesting Malacañang’s intervention in the controversy.
“Will have this looked into,†Piñol, a Liberal Party member, quoted the President as responding to his text message.
Piñol said he also announced on his Facebook account Aquino’s commitment to have the problems now besetting USM investigated.
“We are grateful to the President,†Piñol said.
Even re-elected Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu is hoping for an immediate resolution to the USM controversy.
Mangudadatu’s office has 107 scholars studying at the USM under his administration’s Maguindanao Program on Empowerment and Community Development.
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