Genuine resistance is neither futile nor sporadic. For it to be truly an emancipatory discourse, it must posit alternatives. Ultimately, it must persist.

It is this disposition that must define our current poltical conditions. The state of emergency, indeed, has become the rule rather than the exception. As such, we are left with no other choice but for continued resistance.

It is in this light that schools and universities have joined the increasing clamor for the removal of Gloria Arroyo from power. Just recently, students and youth groups mobilized by the thousands in the third mass protest in just a month to insist on the president’s ouster. If anything, all these are signs that the people will not be subjugated by the treacherous machinations employed by this regime to save itself from an inevitable demise.

We are, for example, assaulted by statements of support purportedly for Arroyo to finish her term as president, from associations of local government officials to dubious
organizations. Reports say that millions of pesos have already been spent in just a span of few weeks for this deceptive media campaign. Mainstream news networks, meanwhile, have been quick to conclude that the people are actually divided on this most pressing issue.

The latest torrent of Arroyo’s grave sins and reasons for her ouster, however, sees no end. Executive Order 464, which enjoins government officials from appearing before Congressional hearings and investigations, has long been declared by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional and illegal. It was only recently, however, that Arroyo lifted order, despite massive criticism from various groups.

A culpable sell-out of the country’s sovereignty, moreover, has been exposed in the controversial Spratlys deal, which Arroyo furtively entered into but failed to report to Congress. The agreement allows Chinese and Vietnamese governments and companies to operate in an area that covers over 20,000 square kilometer of undisputed Philippine territory, including 80 percent of the Kalayaan group of islands being claimed by the Philippines.

The list of malevolent aggressions goes on, all leading us to the doorsteps of Malacañang where it all began. Arroyo’s removal from power, certainly, will not solve all of the country’s problems, but such will definitely end a good number of them.

Former Senate President Jovito Salonga posits that with all the controversies hounding Arroyo, she will never resign as such will mean her loss of immunity. We must only remember, however, that nothing will protect her from the intensifying rage of a people that has long been afflicted with a leadership characterized by corruption, deception and utter disregard for human rights.

Crumble, therefore, this regime. # Philippine Collegian

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Violence erupted as agents from the MMDA demolished over 30 structures in the UP Wet and Dry Market, supposedly to give way to the expansion of the Commonwealth Ave.

At least 18 vendors and students were injured and rushed to the hospital, including former Student Regent Ken Leonard Ramos and former Collegian features editor John Vincent Marin. Reports say that the injured vendors and students were hit with metal bars by the MMDA agents, with one of the students sustaining severe injuries to his head.

Vendors earlier decried the demolition plans, saying that the MMDA failed to present a court order or provide affected vendors with relocation. It also remains questionable that nearby commercial establishments, like the DBP, LandBank, and Petron, were excluded from the demolition.

What has now become more infuriating, however, is the UP administration’s marked silence on this utter brutality. All that Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs Cynthia Gregorio could say was that the designated task force under her office tried but failed to stop the demolition. Gregorio further says that the MMDA failed to issue prior notice for the demolition

It is one thing to just cease from expecting any positive action from this office given its consistent stance for the displacement of UP communities; it is another thing, however, when inutility already stares us in the face and yet lame attempts to conceal such are hurled at us with this administration’s trademark facility with deceit.

Enraging how the UP administration can easily get away with such acts of injustice. It has been relentless in the demolition of surrounding communities, ruthless in its implementation of a tuition increase, and unreasonable in imposing other repressive policies. Certainly, the administration has the means and the capacity to stop the demolition, more so the violence that resulted from it.

The students who rushed to the side of the aggrieved vendors were not out to cause disorder, as claimed by officials of the MMDA. On the contrary, it is a concerted effort to preclude further iniquity. It is an assertion of the people’s rights when the very institutions we entrust our welfare to, foremost of which is UP, are the same ones that condone, even encourage, such aggressions.

This fascism of the state is nothing new. Newspaper headlines scream of citizens robbed of their homes and livelihood through demolitions on a daily basis. Its malevolence is all the more magnified when it happens right before us, and when the people who have the power to prevent such from happening can only shrug their shoulders and pretend they did what they can.

The UP administration’s inaction necessitates condemnation. More than that, it necessitates our fullest defiance.# Philippine Collegian

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