Ateneo de Manila University, University of the Philippines and De La Salle University set aside their rivalry in college basketball to unite against the sneaky burial of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Heroes’ Cemetery.
One by one, leaders of the so-called “Big Four” schools, except for the University of Santo Tomas, spoke before thousands of anti-Marcos protesters, many of whom were millennials, at the People Power Monument in Quezon City on Wednesday night.
Before giving a message, Ateneo President Fr. Jett Villarin, S.J. sang the Ateneo chant “One Big Fight!” along with the crowd.
Students and alumni from UP in the rally also chanted “Unibersidad ng Pilipinas!” when Chancellor Michael Tan took the stage.
The chancellor thanked the students for attending the rally while the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the FEU Tamaraws were competing in a do-or-die UAAP basketball match.
The Blue Eagles won over the Tamaraws in overtime, 69-68.
Tan said it was rare that people from Ateneo, La Salle and UP “have put aside the UAAP and basketball” to attend Wednesday’s big event.
Tan said that although he does not fully support the exhumation of Marcos’ remains at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, he encouraged UP members to “dig the truth up.”
“Let’s unearth the truth. You’re the ones who will write it. The millennials will write the history and it would be a history that would include this afternoon’s event,” he said.
De La Salle Philippines President Brother Jose Mari Jimenez, meanwhile, criticized President Duterte’s “Change is Coming” campaign slogan in the May election, saying change for the entire nation does not depend on the decision of one person only.
“We’ve been told that ‘Change is coming.’ If change is really coming, this will not come from one man,” he said.
“It should come from us,” Jimenez said.