UP Oblation runners call for end to human rights violations

Members of the Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity ran naked on December 13 at the UP Los Baños campus to call for an end to human rights violations and the restoration of the character of the state university as a "University of the People." Around 15 naked runners, whose bodies were painted with “Itaguyod ang UP bilang pamantasan ng bayan (uphold UP as the university of the people)” traversed the UP Los Baños’ grounds.. 

 

The Oblation run, an annual tradition of the fraternity, is a popular campus event. But more than just a parade of naked men, the run also carries a message about certain issues. 

 

"Every year, may message sila na gustong ipakita sa mga students ng UP. Kaya po kailangan manood ka. Parang hindi kumpleto 'yung stay mo sa UP nang hindi ka nanonood ng Oblation run," Adolfo Manalaysay, a UP Manila student, said in a 24 Oras report on GMA News. 

 

In UP Manila on December 11, the run was held to denounce threats to Internet freedom.  

In Los Baños, the runners carried placards with calls such as “Ipagtanggol ang karapatang pantao (defend human rights)” and “Fight for a nationalist, scientific and mass-oriented education.”

 

“The Aquino administration has remained ineffective, if not inert, when it comes to addressing the worsening state of human rights in the country,” Maria Cristina Madeja, chairperson of Samahan ng Kabataan para sa Bayan, said.

 

She said at least 129 cases of extrajudicial killings, around 400 political prisoners and thousands of cases of harassment, torture and forced evacuation have been recorded since President Benigno Aquino III started office in 2012.

 

She also cited the alleged rampant militarization happening in South Quezon and Bondoc Peninsula, where eight army battalions are said to be deployed. A total of 216 cases of human rights violations have pointed to military elements as perpetrators, she claimed.

 

According to the Commission on Human Rights, there were fewer cases of human rights violations compared to the previous administration, a previous report said. 

 

Of the 92 reported cases of human rights abuses involving the military recorded by the CHR, the Armed Forces of the Philippines has admitted to 42 and these are now being investigated, according to a report aired on GMA News TV program Balitanghali. 

 

“We are also running against the commercialization and privatization of education, which effectively is a violation of our right to education because it narrows the democratic access to the national university,” Alpha Phi Omega’s Ray Robin Abache said.

 

“Ever since the 300 percent UP tuition increase was approved in 2006, many poor but deserving children of farmers, workers and other marginalized sectors of society were disenfranchised of their right to education because, simply, they cannot afford the tuition much less the daily cost of living,” he added.

 

The Higher Education Modernization Act of 1997 allows the governing boards of State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) to embark on business ventures with the private sector as well as set their own tuition fees.

 

“The university is becoming more and more occupied with generating income through fee increases and lease of idle assets at the expense of reclaiming its orientation as the university of the people,” he said.

 

UP budget

 

The budget for UP went down from P6.9 billion in 2010 to the proposed P5.5 billion for 2011. According to Aquino III, the budget department only lowered the allocation because UP has other means to source funds, such as UP-Ayala Technohub, from students' tuition, and from state subsidies.  

In the proposed 2013 budget, SUCs will have a significant increase in allotment, with a proposed P37.1 billion. 

 

According to Budget and Management Secretary Florencio B. Abad, the University of the Philippines (UP) is set to receive a P3.9-billion increase in their budget, raising their total 2013 allocation to P10 billion. 

 

The Senate on December 5 ratified the P2.006-trillion national budget for 2013. Senate finance committee chair Senator Franklin Drilon said the highest allocation is for education, with P292.7 billion. —KG, GMA News