THE University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons star Kobe Paras is not going to allow his fellows “Iskos” to fend for themselves as he vowed to help raise funds for their legal fees following their arrest after a protest on Friday, June 5, 2020.
Not long after hearing of the incident that happened at the UP Cebu’s campus, Paras expressed his gratitude to the students for “standing up for what is right.” He also pledged to raise money to bail out those who were apprehended by police.
“I saw the news in Cebu about my fellow Isko and Iskas. To all my people there who got arrested, thank you for standing up for what is right. To all my Isko and Iskas in Cebu and everywhere else, stay strong, stay safe, and stand ten toes down. We will raise money to bail those affected!” said the son of former PBA star Benjie Paras on his Twitter account.
Paras was not alone in his support for the student protesters as he was joined by former Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) standouts Paul Desiderio and Jun Manzo, both of whom starred for UP as well.
Manzo, the former University of the Visayas Green Lancers star, posted on Twitter, “#ReleaseCebu7” while Desiderio, who is now playing for Blackwater after winning the Cesafi juniors MVP award and then leading UP back to the UAAP finals, tweeted, “Iskolar ng Bayan kahit kailan! #JunkTerrorBill #ReleaseCebu7."
The activists were apprehended by police on Friday morning after a protest against the proposed anti-terrorism bill. As of Saturday, they remain in police custody.