A girl interrupted

Whatever drove or motivated her to do what she did to President Arroyo (the most memorable thing perhaps she has ever done in her life), Teresa Pangilinan achieved fame, or infamy. She was one of the graduating students who heckled the President during their commencement exercises at the Cavite State University (CSU) last April 21.

Pangilinan, a graduate of Mass Communications at the CSU, was the toast of the town after Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look into the possible filing of criminal charges against the "hecklers" for their alleged violation of Article 153 of the Revised Penal Code. This provision of the law penalizes those who "cause any serious disturbance in a public place, office or establishment, or shall interrupt or disturb public performances, functions, or gatherings, or peaceful meetings."

As we have seen in news video footage of this incident, the President was in the middle of her speech when suddenly Pangilinan, who was seated with the rest of the graduating students, shouted at the top of her voice "Patalsikin si (oust) Gloria" and unfurled a streamer painted in red with the words "No to Cha-cha!" Naturally, such a disturbance got the Presidential Security Group (PSG) to jump on Pangilinan to stop her from further creating a commotion. Mrs. Arroyo, although interrupted for a moment by Pangilinan’s antics, however, appeared not distracted and continued with her address to the graduates. The President completed the commencement program up to her handing out diplomas to Pangilinan and the rest of the graduates.

This knee-jerk reaction of the DOJ Secretary earned undeserved national attention for Pangilinan, the girl interrupted in her heckling of the President. It was too late for Gonzalez to announce yesterday that the DOJ would no longer press charges against the CSU "hecklers".

Former President Fidel Ramos employed a very effective formula in dealing with "hecklers" during his term. A psy-war expert, Mr. Ramos would go out of his way to get down from his vehicle and personally invite the noisy anti-government rallyists to join the discussions of issues they raised against policies or programs of his administration. Stunned by this presidential gesture, even the most militant rallyists were disarmed by Mr. Ramos’ charm.

Deposed President Joseph Estrada observed his own "mega-tolerance" in dealing with "hecklers" even at the height of disaffection foisted by his detractors and bitter critics from civil society who led the rallies in 2000 against his administration following the alleged jueteng payola expose of Ilocos Sur Governor Luis "Chavit" Singson. Estrada gave much democratic space even to his most rabid enemies and it got him ousted from office at the end of the EDSA-2 People Power Revolution in January 2001.

The CSU incident was not the first time for President Arroyo to be rudely interrupted in the middle of a speech but which she did not bother at all to pay attention to. In fact, when a similar heckling incident happened to her in the past, Mrs. Arroyo was also in a speaking engagement during one of the presidential visits abroad. It was during an event with the Filipino community in the US when a group of Filipino-American students unfurled streamers and yelled anti-Gloria chants right in the middle of the auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The US Secret Service security escorts as well as the marshals of the event quietly and peacefully herded the "hecklers" out of the auditorium. Although the "hecklers" successfully delivered their message across, their actions did not escape the LA policemen who invited them for questioning at police headquarters. Ironically, the Philippine consulate had to intervene and ask the LA Police Department to let the hecklers off without any charges.

Like what she did in LA, Mrs. Arroyo was unaffected and proceeded with her speech and even acknowledged the CSU incident as part of the territory and of free expression. After all, as President Arroyo always puts it, she is not into a popularity race.

Rep. Joseph A. Santiago (NPC, Catanduanes), himself a former student leader during his college days, revealed that 113 state colleges and universities (SUCs), and CSU is one of them, are subsidized by the national government. The SUCs will get an aggregate budget of P15.5 billion under the proposed P1.053-trillion General Appropriations Act for 2006. With this huge amount of taxpayers money we spend for SUCs, the actuations of graduates like Pangilinan became an issue of public finance.

On top of their national government subsidy, the SUCs have been authorized to retain internally-generated income in line with the policy adopted by President Arroyo when she took over the government. Being a former student of the University of the Philippines (UP), the country’s premier SUC, Mrs. Arroyo acknowledged the need for SUCs to attain fiscal independence. So there should be no basis for concern that the antics of Pangilinan would cause difficulties for the CSU.

Fortunately for her, Pangilinan was not taken out of the graduation rites. She, in fact, was allowed to stay and complete the commencement rites to receive the replica-diploma and even shook hands with President Arroyo. What puzzled me in this incident was how come Pangilinan, who publicly professed her loss of respect for Mrs. Arroyo after the "lying, cheating, and stealing" charges against the President, still shook hands with her. Is she suffering from some kind of schizophrenia or a split personality problem? Sure, this feisty coed doing this feat has got balls…but hers are in the wrong place.

As I gathered from reports, Pangilinan is the president of the CSU University Central Student Council and the vice chairperson of the Southern Tagalog chapter of the left-leaning National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP).

As president of the CSU Student Council, Pangilinan admitted she knew beforehand that President Arroyo would be their commencement speaker. If she and her fellow student activists at the CSU hold such strong sentiments against President Arroyo, they could have opted to boycott the graduation rites and instead, openly assemble and protest nearby while the commencement rites were taking place.

But the CSU hecklers apparently really intended to create maximum dramatic impact to embarrass the President and surely get wide media mileage. They succeeded, with the help of the Justice Secretary.

* * *