Panday Sining-College of Saint Benilde protested against attacks on press freedom yesterday at the School of Design and Arts (SDA) Cafeteria. This was followed by another protest together with Kabataan Partylist, One La Salle for Human Rights, and Anakbayan DLS Vito Cruz, in front of Mcdonald’s, Vito Cruz.
Panday Sining-College of Saint Benilde, a national democratic mass organization, spearheaded the protest in line with the recent arrest of Rappler’s CEO Maria Ressa in the regime of President Rodrigo Duterte.
The organization aimed to give knowledge to the Benildean community and shed light on the recent happenings in the country today.
“Media oppression is an erratic machine by the Duterte regime wherein everyone who opposes the administration are being taken down,” Arvin Isidro of Panday Sining said in an interview with The Benildean.
“Ang mga Benildyano ay hindi dapat takot na magsiwalat sa kung ano ang nangyayari sa bansa nating mala-kolonyal at mala-pyudal,” Isidro added.
The protest continued later on in front of Mcdonald’s Vito Cruz with other organizations such as Kabataan Partylist, One La Salle for Human rights, and Anakbayan De La Salle Vito Cruz
Ryan Garcia of One La Salle For Human Rights and Democracy started the protest by speaking about Ressa’s recent arrest and how the current administration is censoring the truth from the public.
Furthermore, James Carwyn Candila of Anakbayan Vito Cruz emphasized the similarity of Duterte’s actions to former dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ regime. He spoke about the eight-year-old case of Ressa resurfacing just when Rappler stood against a fascist government, implying that it was politically-motivated. He also tackled attacks on press freedom such as budget cuts in publications in universities.
“Ito ay isang patunay na ang estado ay gagawa ng paraan para mapatikom ang bibig ng mga nagsasabi ng katotohanan, para mapatikom ang mga bibig ng oposisyon, para mapatikom ang bibig ng mga nagsusulong ng demokrasya,” he stated.
In an interview with The Benildean, Candila questioned the timeliness of Ressa’s arrest, “Ito ay isang katakatakang pangyayari na bakit sa kasalukuyang administrasyon pa [sa kalagitnaan ng patuloy na pagooposisyon ng Rappler sa mga panukala at sa mga ginagawa ng administrasyon]. Bakit ngayon pa sa panahon ni Duterte?”
Protesters concluded the event by chanting, “Defend! Defend! Defend press freedom” and “Ang tao! Ang bayan! Ngayon ay lumalaban! Ngayon ay lumalaban! Ang tao! Ang bayan!”
