Friday, October 20, 2006 Roperos: Campus press freedom By Godofredo M. Roperos Politics Also
THIS piece should have been the third part of my piece on our troubled parishes, but I am writing that for tomorrow. I will tackle instead the issue on the beleaguered “Philippine Collegian,” student publication of the University of the Philippines in Diliman.
I have a deep emotional attachment to the Collegian since I cut my first journalistic teeth there. As a freshman, I published in the paper my first effort at creative writing.
I read in a national daily that the Collegian has been caught in a bind with UP authorities over the question on who has control of the funds for the publication.
No question of this kind arose during the years that I was in Diliman in the early 1950s (I was a member of the staff). The Collegian always got the funds for its operation from the student fees collected for the purpose every semester.
But it seems the UP administration is now questioning whether or not the fund is part of the university’s money. If it is university money, then its release should be under university management and subject to proper disbursement procedures.
In this setup, even in contracting a printer for the college paper, the editorial board will have to hold a public bidding, which is time-consuming. Besides, the procedure gives the administration subtle editorial control.
The Collegian has always held on to the tradition of being editorially unbridled. It has always been openly critical of the university administration when its actuations are not in keeping with the university’s interest. It even criticized Malacañang and Congress on issues that go against public interest.
The Collegian’s principled stand has become subject of legends. During my years in Diliman, the Collegian was gravely critical of the administration of then president Elpidio Quirino. I cannot recall now what the issue was but UP students decided to hold a rally in Malacañang itself.
The students contracted Halili buses for the trip to the Palace. But on the morning when the students had massed in front of the administration building, the buses did not show up, as the police blocked them. Undeterred, the students marched to the Palace on foot under the heat of the blazing sun.
In current issues of deep national significance, the Collegian has always taken a stand, whether for or against the UP or the national leadership. It seems, that its current problem can also be similarly traced to its hard-hitting, critical tirade against the present university administration, as well as of the Arroyo government.
That the powers that be is benefiting from the funds issue standoff is probably the reason why no determined effort has been made by the UP administration to resolve the problem.
But the real point at issue here is that campus newspapers and school organs in the country, especially state institutions, should be given the same measure of freedom that the rest of the nation’s media enjoys, subject to the limitations of our accepted norms of conduct and moral values and fundamental laws.
Hence, the case of the Philippine Collegian should be considered with deep concern in our country, in the matter of press freedom even in the academe.
