03/09/2026
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We, the member publications of the College Editors Guild of the PhilippinesโDavao, condemn the โpreventive suspensionโ imposed on Alyajier Midtimbang, the Editor-in-Chief of The Scribe, the official student publication of Mindanao State UniversityโMaguindanao, and express grave concern over the administrationโs intimidation and repression of critical student voices.
On September 1, 2026, the Office of the Chancellor of MSU-Maguindanao issued a memorandum directing university officials to โpreventively suspend the writer from his post in the Scribe, effective immediately, pending the disciplinary proceedings against him,โ to refer him for disciplinary action, and to โremove and revoke the writerโs access to all Scribe accounts.โ
The directive followed the publication of a column that questioned the universityโs non-participation in the Mindanao State University System Athletic Association (MSUSAA) Unity Games and raised concerns regarding the handling of public funds. The administration, in the same memorandum, took issue with what it described as โserious insinuations against the Universityโs handling and management of public fundsโ and invoked โfairness, responsible journalism, publishing ethics, and the right of reply.โ
However, the administrationโs invocation of journalistic ethics does not, by itself, justify measures that immediately restrict a student journalistโs participation in the campus press. Questions of accuracy, fairness, and the right of reply may be properly raised, but they must be addressed through processes that do not themselves undermine editorial independence or pre-empt the outcome of disciplinary proceedings.
CEGP-Davao maintains that campus publications are not extensions of university public relations offices. They are spaces for independent student journalism, scrutiny, dissent, and public accountability. Their role is not to insulate administrations from criticism, but to ensure that decisions affecting students can be questioned, examined, and debated.
CEGP-Davao calls for the immediate withdrawal and review of the punitive measures imposed against the concerned student journalist and the guarantee of a transparent and genuinely independent process consistent with due process and the rights of the campus press.
The MSUโMaguindanao administration cannot invoke โdisciplineโ as a shield against scrutiny while leveraging its administrative authority over students and refusing to subject its own decisions to examination. We reject any attempt to weaponize disciplinary mechanisms as instruments of censorship.
We call on campus publications, student councils, student organizations, educators, alumni, journalists, and press freedom advocates across Mindanao and the country to stand with The Scribe.
We must be clear that campus journalists are not PR arms of school administrations. They are journalists. Their responsibility is to the truth, to the student body, and to the public interestโnot to the comfort of those in positions of authority.
