‘We are proud of our activism’

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

 

The newly minted Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) on Friday doubled down on a statement he released on Thursday, expressing pride in the activism of the premiere state university in the country.

On Thursday, the UPV’s official social media accounts posted Dr. Clement Camposano’s statement on various issues, particularly activism in UP and the outcome of the first semester of Academic Year 2020-2021.

The semester had been mired with challenges, as students and faculty shifted to digital or non-physical modes due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

In the statement, Camposano said that the University “pleads guilty” to the “charge” of being a breeding ground for activists.

The statement was a reaction of sorts to President Rodrigo Duterte’s repeated remarks against UP, including more recently his threat to decrease its budget.

Duterte’s tirade was based not on anything that that had been said or done inside any UP campus, but the recent declaration of a strike by students of the Ateneo De Manila University in Quezon City.

Camposano defended activism as a response to an impulse of “something better laid beyond their field of vision”.

“We plead guilty to the charge that the University of the Philippines is a breeding ground for activists. We accept that activism is not only a big part of what we are as an institution but is also its leading edge. Activism is a refusal to keep to established ways because we are convinced that something better lies just beyond our field of vision. We cannot see into the future, but we feel it gnawing at our insides. Activists are people driven by such an impulse. They are hopelessly hopeful – throwing caution into the wind, risking their own welfare because they believe they are helping build a better future.”

In an interview with Daily Guardian on Air on Friday via Aksyon Radyo-Iloilo, Camposano said that as part of his policy as Chancellor, he would rather not respond to the statements made by the Duterte administration.

He added that the recent comments on defunding the University were made in jest, knowing that the power of the purse is with Congress, not the executive department.

He added that the President may not have been properly informed of certain issues.

“We don’t have to react to everything that comes out of the Palace because sometimes it is not serious. We all know that as far as the budget is concerned, the power of the purse is with Congress, so that claim about defunding the university, two things, I’m sure that it was in jest, or maybe the President was not informed properly by his subordinates. We know that that actually happens,” Camposano said.

The chancellor doubled down on his earlier statements, magnifying on the criticisms from Duterte supporters that UP was also a breeding ground for activists and even rebels.

A popular talking point among supporters within and outside of the government was that the UP system produced communist sympathizers, even including them in informational materials that were seen as forms of “red tagging.”

“I think the bigger issue here is really the views circulating about UP being a breeding ground of activists. Not only activists, but communists. Not only are we pleading guilty, we are actually proud of it. We are proud of our tradition of activism,” he added.

He added that he “found it strange” that the administration and its supporters singled out the UP system in its criticism of activists and communist members.

He noted that UP produced 66 National Artists and elected and appointed government officials serving in present and previous administrations, including the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, which he remarked as an “affirmation of the University’s diversity”.

UPV has also been active in its recent contributions, with the Philippine Genome Center in the Visayas which is located at the Miagaao campus, being instrumental in training of personnel who conduct COVID-19 tests.

A local UPV alumni organization, iAmUPHi, has also been providing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to frontliners during the pandemic.

“This is really part or consequence of the fact that our campuses are pervaded by free exchange, free and vigorous exchange of ideas, and it is that very same atmosphere that has also led to many of our graduates becoming leaders in different areas, not just in political activism, but also in their fields. If only for our contribution to the political leadership, and the leadership to the different sectors, I think we are doing society a service, and for that reason, the red-tagging is misplaced,” he said.

He also said that UP graduates who choose to join revolutionary forces are already outside of UP’s scope.

“Let me just point out that we in UP will never condone lawless violence. Of course, if there are people, graduates of UP, who decide to become revolutionaries, that is beyond our scope. How a person will live out his political views is beyond the control of any university. If they cannot be stopped by their own parents, how can we? If they cannot be stopped by their spouses and their relatives, how can we?” the chancellor said.

Camposano suggested that those who are criticizing the actions of UP graduates should look into the reasons why they chose to join these forces, starting with the problem of inequality.

“I think, what is more important is this. I think we have to ask a different kind of question here, and that question is this: ‘Why is it that the smart members of our community are activists, and are participating in the movements?’ I think it’s time that we look at the reasons why and try to appreciate the problems that are being raised. One of the problems here, and this is something that we never tire in raising not only in our political activities in UP but also within our classes, is the problem of inequality,” he said.

Camposano also took the opportunity to clarify the concept of academic freedom as stated in Republic Act No. 9500, the UP system’s charter, which was signed by then-President Gloria Arroyo in 2008.

“The concept of academic freedom requires some clarification. The main substance of it is the right of the University to pursue its academic programs and to engage in the production of acknowledge. So, it is really meant to protect the University from outside elements. That is a right, that is a freedom that is guaranteed by law, and it is a freedom that is central to the exercise of our function as the national university. This is not just about the expression of political ideas, but it also includes our responsibility as researchers, and producers of knowledge, they need to be unhampered,” he said.

As regards the notion that the UP community was “ungrateful” to the government which shouldered the tuition of UP students, Camposano simply said that they have “fully paid” their dues.

“That’s funny because these people have probably not read our outputs. They should read our research reports. They should read books written by people from UP. They should read our contributions to government reform. I can honestly tell you that as far as that item is concerned, we’re fully paid. We have paid that several times over. We’re not charging interest,” Camposano said in jest.