Office of the Faculty Regent

Category: Statements

  • OFR Statement on the 39th Anniversary of 1986 EDSA People Power Uprising

    OFR Statement on the 39th Anniversary of 1986 EDSA People Power Uprising

    The Office of the Faculty Regent (OFR) of the University of the Philippines (UP) System joins the UP community and the entire country in commemorating the 39th anniversary of the EDSA People Power uprising. On this day, we remember that moment in history when the Filipino people stood up and bravely faced and defeated the tyranny of the Marcos Sr. dictatorship.

    We take part in the commemoration in part to honor the immense sacrifices made by members of our UP community and countless Filipinos who participated in the active resistance against the dictatorship for two decades. Many of them paid the ultimate price with their lives. Their legacy of selfless sacrifice and nationalism moves us to carry on with our struggle for justice and peace, and commitment to public service.

    We wish to acknowledge the decision of UP President Angelo A. Jimenez to declare February 25 as Alternative Learning Day in recognition of the historic 1986 People Power uprising. This declaration allows us to fulfill our collective duty to #NeverForget the inequities of the dictatorship and tyrannical rule, while providing us a crucial space for critical reflection and learning.

    We also understand why some members of our faculty body have expressed that UP should have taken a more progressive stand—similar to other universities that suspended work and classes—and that it could have been declared more promptly. We now move forward and take appropriate action to uphold the true spirit of the 1986 uprising. We must stand united against any attempt to revise history, normalize impunity, or erode public accountability.

    Our faculty members are crucial in shaping the minds of the youth who in turn will shape the future of the nation. We enjoin them to exercise their right to assemble, speak out, and express collective indignation against corruption, historical distortion, and the ongoing neglect of social services including education. We urge members of our community to participate in the multiple protest actions happening across the country today and resist efforts to silence or diminish the lessons of our past.

    Today is an opportunity for both commemoration and engagement. Let us make sure that progressive learning and critical thinking extend beyond our classrooms. By doing this, we honor the sacrifices of those who fought for freedom and reaffirm our commitment to a society that upholds good governance, justice, and accountability.

    Mabuhay ang diwa ng EDSA!

    #ResistTyranny
    #DefendAcademicFreedom

    Hon. Early Sol A. Gadong
    Faculty Regent, UP System

  • MANINDUGAN! | A Call to Action for the UP Community to Stand Against Poverty, Corruption, and Impunity

    MANINDUGAN! | A Call to Action for the UP Community to Stand Against Poverty, Corruption, and Impunity

    The Office of the Sectoral Regents stands in solidarity with various sectors and communities in today’s national people’s protest against poverty, corruption, and impunity (January 31, 2025). We raise our voices as one alongside the growing movement demanding accountability from the Marcos Jr. administration, which has callously funneled billions in confidential funds into the pockets of the ruling elite while millions of Filipinos suffer from skyrocketing prices of basic commodities.
    Nagkakaisa din ang inyong Student Regent, Staff Regent, at Faculty Regent sa panawagang patalsikin si Vice President Sara Duterte dahil sa walang pakundangang pag-aabuso sa paggasta ng pondo ng bayan sa Office of the Vice President at sa Department of Education. We likewise demand the prosecution of former President Rodrigo Duterte for his brutal and bloody war on drugs and and for his relentless attacks against the political opposition.
    We condemn how President Marcos Jr. has drastically cut funding for essential sectors, thereby crippling institutions that provide social services. The Department of Health lost ₱26 billion, while PhilHealth suffered a ₱74 billion reduction. The Department of Education faced a ₱12 billion budget cut, while the Commission on Higher Education had its funding slashed by ₱27 billion. The Department of Agriculture, which should be strengthening local food production, saw a ₱20 billion cut. Even the University of the Philippines, the country’s national university, suffered a ₱2.08 billion reduction—the largest in nine years.
    In the face of the underfunding of these vital services, Marcos Jr.’s allies in Congress have inserted millions in discretionary allocations into a budget riddled with at least 14 blank pages, as exposed by Makabayan and other opposition legislators. Exacerbating these matters is the billions of pesos in confidential funds amassed by the Office of the President that can be vulnerable to abuse, especially with the 2025 midterm elections looming.
    Despite the publicly projected political power struggles between the Marcos and Duterte camps, Marcos Jr. has refused to support impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte. He has openly dismissed the overwhelming evidence exposing Duterte’s misuse of public funds for dubious expenditures and justice remains elusive for the victims of the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs and its vicious persecution of political opponents from 2016 to 2022. Rather than reversing these repressive policies, the Marcos Jr. administration has doubled down on political persecution, launching punitive attacks on democratic rights, academic freedom, and human rights defenders, all while shielding the police, military, and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) from accountability.
    In the midst of these blatant abuse of power, we call on the entire University of the Philippines community to rise and resist the worsening state of poverty, corruption, and impunity in the country.
    Let us stand together and demand genuine accountability, justice, and democratic rights for all.
    MARCOS SINGILIN!
    DUTERTE PANAGUTIN!
  • UP OFR calls for impartial investigation on Cebu abduction

    UP OFR calls for impartial investigation on Cebu abduction

  • OSR Statement Continued Red-tagging and Attacks to the University

    OSR Statement Continued Red-tagging and Attacks to the University

  • Statement of the UPD University Council on the Upcoming National Elections

    Statement of the UPD University Council on the Upcoming National Elections

    UC-Diliman-Statement-on-the-Upcoming-National-Elections