ILOILO City – The Office of the Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) reaffirmed the premier state school’s commitment to promote and defend academic freedom and freedom of speech.
“While we may not all agree with one another in our ideas and modes of expression, I am personally committed to defend the rights to self-expression of all UPV constituents,” also stressed UPV chancellor Dr. Ricardo Babaran.
Babaran’s office issued an official statement regarding the viral video of a recent UPV cheering competition where contingent Skimmers – composed of students from the Division of Humanities, College of Arts and Sciences – had a satirical performance critical of the Duterte administration.
The nearly 18-minute video of the performance showed the Skimmers tackling national issues such as the drug war, West Philippine Sea and human rights, among others.
At one point, the Skimmers shouted, “Let’s kill this President…Charrrot!” to the delight of spectators.
Following the uploading of the performance on social media, the Skimmers began receiving threats; they were also red-tagged (linked to communist rebels).
The UPV University Student Council, in a statement along with local college councils and other student organizations, “condemned the blatant acts of harassment, targeting members of the Skimmers.”
Pagbutlak, the official student publication of the UPV College of Arts and Sciences, also condemned the attacks on Skimmers.
According to Babaran, UPV has remained and shall always be true to its mandate of ensuring the safety and welfare of all its constituents, especially the students.
However, he emphasized that their capacity for physical protection is limited within the campus only; it could not go beyond its boundaries.
But “because we have armed our students with critical minds to speak, we trust them to fight their battles especially in social media wherever they are located in the social and political spectrum,” stressed Babaran.
The Chancellor added that he had issued a memorandum encouraging everyone in UPV to exercise discretion and sobriety, especially on social media.
“Be very circumspect in issuing statements in any platform which could have personal repercussions,” said Babaran./PN
