OUR guild, the oldest and only existing alliance of campus journalists in the country and in Southeast Asia, strongly condemns the intimidation perpetuated by the state’s forces to The Pillar, the official student publication of the University of Eastern Philippines.
From The Pillar:
“At around 9 p.m., four men visited their office and interrogated the editor-in-chief (EIC). One introduced himself as a patroller from RMG (Regional Mobile Group, which is under the PNP) who is stationed in Lavezares. This was after the publication organized the ‘Candle Lighting Ceremony for Negros.’ The men asked about the event—its purpose, who were there, how many were there, who organized the event. They aggressively asked if another organization aside from the publication was behind the event. They also asked for the name of the EIC and demanded to see the letter approved by the Office of Student Affairs to conduct the activity and why the publication held such event.
Tuesday, Aug. 19 at about 1 p.m., two girls attempted to take photos of our office. When asked about the purpose, they said they do not know and that they were only sent by a policeman to take photos of our office. At around 3 p.m., someone from the UEP Security Office went to The Pillar Office to ask about the event. Minutes later, an editor was called to the Security Office. According to them, they received a call from an ‘intel’ of Catarman Municipal Police Station that our event might be “infiltrated” and a “threat” to the safety of the campus.
Armed policemen were also seen inside the campus last Aug. 19, and earlier, Aug. 20, 2019, just across the office of the publication. According to the security office of UEP, the PNP received information from their ‘intel’ that a rally was to be held and that they were there to avoid ‘threats’ and ‘chaos.’
What happened to The Pillar was a clear manifestation of the dire fascist attacks of the Duterte regime to the civil rights of Filipino citizens.