In the face of a growing culture of impunity and historical revisionism under the Marcos-Duterte regime, the call for accountability rings louder now more than ever—within and beyond the walls of the university.
Three years into the pandemic, the Sunken Garden will see the return of the UP Fair. This annual event has served not only as a space for music and the arts but also as an avenue for advocacies and campaigns. In this year’s fair, the university and the students amplify the demands to end the culture of violence and impunity. But while the Fair promises to intensify such calls, several issues that hound the week-long benefit concert may have drowned out its core message. In particular, the bidding process managed by the UP Diliman University Student Council has allowed fraternities to participate in the Fair as night handlers. The involvement of organizations such as the Upsilon Sigma Phi, whose members continue to evade accountability for the unresolved cases of violence and gender-based harassment in UP, has overshadowed the Fair’s campaign against impunity.
The voice of the Collegian is one with the studentry: Fraternities must face commensurate sanctions for their offenses, and all forms of discrimination and fraternity-related violence must end. Exacting accountability means deplatforming and disengaging from forces that continue to elude it, no matter—and especially because of—their power and resources.
Amid these controversies surrounding the Fair, one of the Collegian’s editors made an unverified claim that might have steered the discourse away from more pressing matters. In a now-deleted tweet, the said editor egregiously implied that the organizers of UP Fair Saturday: Cosmos did not sign the Fair’s campaign manifesto rejecting the Marcos-Duterte regime. Consequently, this has exposed the organizers of Cosmos to reckless and baseless accusations that could have affected ticket sales and, by extension, the concert organizers’ beneficiaries.
The Collegian regrets this turn of events. Both the Editorial Board and the said editor have resolved to move forward without the latter, who themself recognized that their action failed to maintain the standards of journalistic ethics that the Collegian must strive to uphold, including proper online decorum. As such, the Editorial Board will revisit the publication’s ethical guidelines, in consultation with the staff, and expand or modify them where appropriate. The Collegian commits to ensuring that its members practice journalistic integrity, exercise prudent judgment, and hold truth and fairness in high regard at all times.
Guided by such values, the Collegian will continue to demand accountability within and beyond the university. We echo the students’ call for transparency in the conduct and management of the UP Fair. We stand with the student groups urging the Fair’s organizers to critically assess the reputation and track record of all participating organizations. We persist in the fight to put an end to historical revisionism and the culture of impunity perpetrated by the Marcos-Duterte regime.
For as we protest the state’s violence and injustices, it becomes even more important that we, in the university, also hold ourselves to the highest standards and bear the consequences of our actions. ●
