Ateneo presidents join profs' stand denouncing Marcos dictatorship

The heads of all the five Ateneo universities in the country on Monday joined its faculty members in denouncing the dictatorship of former President Ferdinand Marcos.

In an update, the Ateneo community said that from 412 signatories supporting the statement against the dictatorship on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m., the number ballooned to 512 as of 12 noon on Monday . These include the incumbent presidents of Ateneo schools:

• Fr. Karel S. San Juan, SJ, Member, Board of Trustees; President, Ateneo de Zamboanga
• Fr. Joel E. Tabora, SJ, President, Ateneo de Davao
• Fr. Jose Ramon T. Villarin, SJ, Member, Board of Trustees; President, Ateneo de Manila
• Fr. Primitivo E. Viray, SJ, Member, Board of Trustees; President, Ateneo de Naga
• Fr. Roberto C. Yap, SJ, Member, Board of Trustees; President, Xavier University/Ateneo de Cagayan

The collective statement of the Ateneo community was first published on March 2 as a response to Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos III’s call on President Benigno Aquino III to let historians judge his father’s years.

“We, the undersigned members of the Ateneo de Manila community, vehemently oppose and condemn the ongoing willful distortion of our history. We deplore the shameless refusal to acknowledge the crimes of the Martial Law regime. We reject the revision of history, disturbing vision of the future, and shallow being presented by Marcos Jr. and like-minded candidates in the 2016 elections,” the statement entitled “We are not blind to the darkness and oppression of the Marcos years!” said.

In the letter, the signatories enumerated the various atrocities committed during the Marcos regime and promised to continue to tell the stories of “brutality and corruption” of the said era.

The Ateneo community also addressed the younger Marcos, who is running for vice president. “Ginoong Marcos, mga pinunong tapat sa katotohanan ng kasaysayan ang siyang kailangan ng taong bayan ngayon!” the statement read.

Marcos, for his part, said that he respects the opinion of the professors, even as he disagreed with their stand. —Trisha Macas/JST, GMA News