U.P. Cebu College Graduation Protest Statement

Last academic year we saw UP Cebu constituents rising up to the challenge of the Avila Administration and heed the call for a genuine autonomy of UP Cebu. We have seen the unified action of the iskolars, mga guro and mga kawani ng bayan to defend the democracy of UP Cebu and to put an end the autocratic rule of Dean Avila.

We have seen how Dean Avila imposed undemocratic policies that trampled our basic rights as students, teachers and workers of UP. Dean Avila initiated to close the High School, railroaded UP Cebu's autonomy and failed to involve the full participation of his constituents in designing Up Cebu's program for autonomy. Dean Avila refused to take action on the complaints filed against Mr. Sharif and Mr. Pineda. Desperate to remain in power, he filed libel cases to 8 faculty members and 2 staff that were the leading figures in calling for his ouster.

The monopoly of power and autocratic governance of Dean Avila should be put to a stop. The time is ripe for him to pay for the faults he has done to the university.

As we leave the university and become members of the working force, we will be facing soaring price of basic commodities, oil price hikes and the lack of employment opportunities. This will be now be our reality. In order to answer to this challenge we must remember the valuable lessons that UP taught us. We should use our education to forward the interest of our people and shed light to the systemic problems that besets the nation.

We are not simply UP graduates but we are scholars of the nation bounded to serve our country. The scholars of the nation should become the voice to those who are silenced and the strength to those who are weak. We must look back to UP Cebu and let us never fail to support the ongoing call for accountability, transparency and genuine autonomy. Let the UP community exhaust all means in bringing back democracy in UP Cebu. Tuloy pa rin ang laban!

OUST DEAN AVILA!
BRING BACK DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE IN UP CEBU!
DEFEND THE UP CEBU 10!
SERVE THE PEOPLE!

(Editor's note: The above statement was sourced from the Facebook page of NKE UPVCC. The NKE is a student party and mass organization whose thrust is to defend students' rights and welfare and advances the youth's dream for a nationalist, scientific and mass-oriented education system. According to NKE UPVCC “Yesterday's graduation protest (April 27, 2011) exposed the true face of the AVILA administration. It maneuvers to silence and curtail the rights of every student, faculty, staff and worker. The turning off of the microphone showed the desperate move of this administration to stifle the growing and deafening call for its downfall. A move that further alienates the administration to its constituents. Thus, we must solidify our ranks and continue the struggle for a democratic UP CEBU.”)