UP to public: Not all ‘lessons’ learned in class

MANILA, Philippines — The University of the Philippines (UP) has urged the public to withhold judgment over the presence of its students, Alyssa Alano and Maureen Santuyo, in Toboso, Negros Occidental, where a series of encounters between government troops and alleged New People’s Army (NPA) members on April 19 left the pair dead, along with 17 other individuals.

In a statement on Monday, the state university expressed sadness over the deaths of Alano and Santuyo as it asked people not to jump to conclusions about their presence in “underserved communities.”

“No UP student is limited to lessons learned within the classroom,” it said.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines has maintained that all 19 fatalities were NPA members. The Communist Party of the Philippines, however, said that while 10 of those killed were revolutionary fighters, the rest were civilians.

Alano was a 22-year-old political science student who served as an education and research councilor of the UP Diliman University Student Council. Santuyo, on the other hand, was a 24-year-old Associate of Arts student of the UP Open University and a member of the National Network of Agrarian Reform Advocates Youth.

READ: Brawner defends troops in Negros clash; warns schools vs NPA recruitment

According to UP, initial reports indicated the students were engaged in community-based activities linked to their respective organizations rather than official university programs.

Beacon of critical thinking

It stressed, however, that it supports the right of students to peacefully and lawfully exercise their constitutionally protected freedoms as part of raising their social awareness.

“The University shall remain a beacon of critical thinking, conscience and courage,” UP said.

It also expressed its support for the Commission on Human Rights’ initiative to conduct an independent and transparent investigation of the incident as it called on other government agencies to cooperate.

UP said it has helped facilitate the return of the students’ remains to allow their families and communities to pay their respects with dignity.

Also killed in the supposed clashes were two US-based Filipino American activists conducting immersion activities to learn firsthand the daily hardships of Negros farmers. They were identified as 26-year-old Kai Sorem and Lyle Prijoles, 40. The others were Bacolod journalist RJ Nichole Ledesma, community researcher Errol Wendel and Roel Sabillo, a local farmer. /cb/dp