UP students to Abad: We won’t apologize

MANILA, Philippines–So who manhandled who?

The University of the Philippines (UP) student group accused of mobbing Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad after a forum on the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) last week said on Monday that it was their members who were pushed and shoved by the official’s “protectors.”

The Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP (Stand UP) also criticized Abad and the media for trying to sensationalize the incident and divert public attention from the real issue.

“And for what happened, we will never apologize. As if our placards were pitchforks and the crumpled paper thrown were bombs, the guards manhandled us, shielded Abad and rushed him to his car,” the group said in its statement.

Stand UP also denied that someone in their group grabbed the budget secretary by the collar. “Had we been intent on hurting him…, we would have barged into the auditorium while he was [talking] to students, mauling everyone who got in our way,” it added.

UP President Alfredo E. Pascual, however, stressed that Abad, being an invited guest, “should have been accorded the courtesy and respect due to all guests of the University.”

“While UP constituents are free to actively express their views on issues that affect our nation, such as the proper use of public funds, UP does not condone the use of violence in any manner against any person, be it a member of the university community, a visitor, or a government official,” he said in a statement.

“I have always maintained that as the country’s national university, UP must lead the debate on important issues confronting the country. UP must also uphold the time-honored tradition of dissent vis-a-vis questionable government policies. But debate and dissent, while articulated with passion, require evidence-based and reasoned arguments, and civility to and respect for those who hold the opposite view. Abusive words and deeds have no place in the hallowed grounds of the University,” Pascual stressed.

According to him, an investigation of the incident was ongoing “in accordance with the University’s rules, including the participation of people who are not affiliated with UP.”

When sought for clarification, the UP System Information Office which disseminated Pascual’s statement said the investigation for now would seek only to clarify the basic details of the incident. The Inquirer tried to talk to Pascual for additional details but was told that he was attending budget discussions in Congress.

Abad was the guest speaker in a forum on Wednesday on the proposed UP budget at the School of Economics auditorium on the Diliman campus. The forum was organized by the UP Diliman University Student Council and the UP School of Economics Student Council.

Based on a video of the incident posted online, he was leaving the auditorium after the event when members of Stand UP mobbed him and his bodyguards all the way to his car, calling him a thief and pounding on his vehicle as it drove away.

Earlier, Anakbayan chair Vencer Crisostomo said the protesters also threw crumpled pieces of paper, placards and coins at Abad while one of them grabbed the budget secretary by the collar.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page, Stand UP said that it was the responsibility of the “iskolar ng bayan” to be “the conscience of this nation, the voice of the oppressed, social critics undaunted by adversity and patient agents of social change.”

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