22/09/2025
𝗜𝗦𝗞𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗥 𝗞𝗔𝗠𝗜 𝗡𝗚 𝗕𝗔𝗬𝗔𝗡 — 𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗜 𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗔 𝗗𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗣𝗔𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗦𝗔𝗡 ✊🇵🇭
Earlier today, as we commemorated the 53rd anniversary of Martial Law, the MSU Main Campus Supreme Student Government led a peaceful rally against corruption, a march born out of frustration, hope, and love for our people and our future. It was a solemn act to voice out what many of us can no longer stomach: the corruption that robs us of our present and our future. Yet, in this moment of peaceful assembly, there were attempts to silence us.
Videos and reports sent to the Office of the MSU Student Regent revealed how certain individuals tried to stop the march, shouting at students, pointing fingers, and questioning them about a rally permit. One chilling statement was heard: “Sa amin ang MSU, hindi sa inyo.” As the exchange grew heated, a student began a prayer, starting with “A’udhu billahi minash-shaytanir rajeem,” only to be abruptly (sinigawan) silenced by an authority figure. Even more alarming, some students were photographed, threatened, and forced to give their ID numbers, a clear attempt to intimidate and scare them into silence.
The Office of the Student Regent strongly condemns these acts of intimidation and suppression. Ang MSU ay itinayo hindi upang katahimikan ang kabataan, kundi upang maging daluyan ng tinig at pangarap ng mamamayan.
We are Iskolar ng Bayan, not just for this Dakilang Pamantasan, but for the entire Filipino nation. Our education is paid for by the sacrifices of ordinary people, farmers, fisherfolk, vendors, workers, teachers, working students, and parents who endure hardship so we can pursue our dreams. To silence us is to betray them.
We also call attention to the unnecessary presence of men in uniform inside the campus during the rally. This was a peace rally, purely focused on voicing out our frustrations against corruption. There was no plan of violence, no intent to destroy property, and no politicians involved. Kaya nakakapagtaka kung bakit tila mas binabantayan ang mga estudyante kaysa sa mga tunay na magnanakaw ng bayan. The presence of armed forces during a peaceful demonstration sends a dangerous message: that peaceful dissent is treated as a threat, while corruption runs free.
On the matter of permits, we want to set the record straight. The MSU Main SSG followed due process, sending formal letters (Subject Letter: Information on the Peaceful Protest of MSU - Main Students) to the administration and to peacekeeping forces to inform them and coordinate for the rally. However, they received no response or outright rejections. Kaya paano kami makakakuha ng permit kung mula pa lamang ay binabalewala o tinatanggihan na ang aming mga kahilingan?
This raises a painful question: Why does a peaceful rally require a permit, while corruption continues unchecked without any permission at all?
When the Student Regent stood firm in defending the students’ constitutional rights, threats were made to silence even the Office of the Student Regent. Old policies - irrelevant to today’s context - were thrown at us to justify censorship. In response, we invoked the 1987 Constitution, Article III, Section 4, which clearly states:
“No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.”
Even the Supreme Court ruling in Malabanan vs. Ramento (G.R. No. 127742) affirms that while schools may regulate speech for discipline, they cannot suppress constitutional freedoms unless there is a clear and present danger - which clearly does not exist in a peaceful anti-corruption rally.
Nakakalungkot na ang mga kabataan na nagsasalita laban sa katiwalian ang gustong patahimikin, habang ang mga nagnanakaw ng pondo ay nananatiling malaya at ligtas. It is both ironic and tragic that the administration works so hard to suppress dissent, yet corruption is allowed to flourish.
Are we supposed to simply say “sana all” habang patuloy tayong binabalewala ng mga nasa itaas at ng imperyalismong nakasentro sa Maynila?
MSU itself has not escaped the grip of corruption. Ang ating pamantasan ay ginagamit ng ilang politiko, lalo na sa mga proyektong pang-imprastraktura na hindi tinatapos at ang pondo ay tinatago lamang. These are the same funds meant for education, true development, and genuine peace - now stolen from the very people who desperately need them.
Other State Universities and Colleges like UP have boldly stood with their students, releasing statements and supporting peaceful demonstrations. Even MSU-Gensan supported its students’ right to march. Meanwhile, MSU as the National Peace University, remains silent. This silence is deafening, especially when the students are only asking for truth, transparency, and justice.
This fight is not just against politicians, but against the systemic corruption that destroys lives and futures. Maawa naman kayo sa amin na pinapaaral ng aming mga magulang, na mangingisda, magsasaka, g**o, tindero at tindera, mga manggagawa, at pati na rin kayo mismo na nagbabayad ng buwis. Every peso stolen from public funds is a meal taken away from a hungry child, a book never bought for a student, a bridge never built for a community.
Have we forgotten the very history of MSU’s founding?
It was created to uplift Mindanao, to bring peace and progress, not to serve as a stage for corruption and political gain. Kung hindi ito titigilan, walang pag-unlad na mangyayari, dahil paano tayo uunlad kung ang edukasyon at proyekto ay napupunta lang sa bulsa ng iilan?
The right to speak, to write, and to peacefully assemble is sacred.
Hindi ito dapat pinipigilan, kundi pinoprotektahan at sinusuportahan.
Every voice we raise, every march we take, brings us closer to a brighter future, to justice, to true freedom. Sa bawat sigaw naming laban sa katiwalian, tumataas ang bawat sweldo ng manggagawa, gumaganda ang kinabukasan ng kabataan, at nagkakaroon ng tunay na pagbabago sa ating bayan.
On behalf of the Office of the Student Regent, in faithful service to the studentry, to the Bangsamoro, and to the Filipino people, we declare: Hindi ninyo kami kayang patahimikin. Because when you silence the youth, you silence the future of this nation.
We will continue to march.
We will continue to speak.
We will continue to fight, not with violence, but with truth, courage, and unity.
As long as there are students willing to stand, as long as there are voices brave enough to rise, corruption and oppression will never prevail.
May the Almighty bless and guide us as we continue this struggle, for Mindanao, for Bangsamoro, for MSU, and for the entire Filipino people.
Tayo ay Iskolar ng Bayan. Hindi lamang para sa Dakilang Pamantasan, kundi para sa sambayanang Pilipino.
At habang may kabataan na lumalaban, ang pag-asa ay mananatiling buhay.
