On his first day as the vice chancellor for community affairs (VCCA), Roehl Jamon ordered for the kampuhan of the Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Guardia (SNG) of UP Diliman, located just behind Quezon Hall, to be torn down without prior notice.
SNG President Domingo Padua explained that the group immediately tried contacting Jamon as soon as the demolition team and the UP Diliman Police (UPDP) arrived but could not reach him in time as the directive was already final. The belongings found in the kampuhan were left in the dirt, as shown in a video taken by a member of SNG.
As early as last month, SNG already requested a meeting with current UP Diliman Chancellor Edgardo Carlo Vistan to maintain the agreement with the previous administration allowing the kampuhan to remain. Vistan has yet to reply to their demands.
Jamon, a faculty from the UP Film Institute, is Vistan’s pick to lead the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs. He succeeded Luis Maria Bo-ot, the dean of the College of Architecture, in the role.
“Para sa'kin, hindi ata sila makamasa, maka-kabila sila. Hindi nila mahal ang mga kawani ng unibersidad,” Padua said in an interview with the Collegian and Altermidya.
The kampuhan was built in July 2022 as part of the security guards’s protest against its previous agency Femjeg for fraudulent practices. This small tent stood between a balete tree and the creek that provided a headquarters for SNG members.
“Hindi naman kami nagmamatigas na dapat doon talaga kami. Kahilingan lang naman namin mabigyan kami ng opisinang paglilipatan,” Padua said.
SNG’s demonstration last year proved successful as Femjeg's contract was terminated on August 19, 2022. The agency was then blacklisted from all national government procurement processes for one year, according to Public Safety and Security Office (PSSO) Director Edgie Francis Uyanguren.
UP security guard of 33 years Cory Dalisay recounted her experience with Femjeg, citing instances of months-delayed salaries, verbal, and physical abuses.
“Gusto namin maprotektahan kami. Nakakaranas kami ng pang-aabuso,” she said, emphasizing the necessity of SNG in the protection of their rights against malicious agencies.
Padua also belied rumors that the tent was used for drinking and gambling of their group, which was rumored to be the reason for VCCA’s ground for the demolition.
SNG will be holding an emergency meeting today with its members and the UP Workers' Alliance (UPWA), which has already taken to social media to voice out against the demolition.
“Ang kampuhan ay sumisimbulo ng naging laban ng mga guwardya sa campus noong nakaraang taon. Ngunit, kahit naibalik na ang mga guwardiya at napaloob na sa bagong ahensya, patuloy pa rin ang kanilang laban sa ilang buwan nilang pinaglingkod na hindi pa nabayaran ng agency at ng UP,” UPWA stated in its post.
The victory SNG achieved last year was symbolized by the kampuhan, Padua said. And while Femjeg does not handle security personnel in the campus anymore, he said that a physical location for their ranks will allow the group to forward their calls to regularize UP employees.
“Makasaysayan para sa amin ang kampuhan dahil doon kami nagsama laban sa mapang-abusong agency. Nagiba na ang kampuhan pero hindi nagigiba ang aming pinaglalaban,” Dalisay said. ●
