MANILA, Philippines — University of the Philippines Manila (UP Manila) students staged a walkout protest for the university systemwide Black Friday protest, calling for accountability and transparency over the delayed construction inside the campus, widespread corruption in the country, and worsening budget cuts.
Over 600 students joined the protest on Friday in front of the delayed construction of the Rizal Hall of the university’s College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) building.
In 2018, the St. Timothy Construction Corp., linked to high-profile contractors Curlee and Sarah Discaya, was responsible for the renovation of the Rizal Hall building at UP Manila, with a supposed P30 million allocation.
On Monday, Sept. 8, Sen. Raffy Tulfo grilled Curlee Discaya during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing over the said unfinished project at the university’s CAS building.
“What happened to the UP Manila Rizal Hall Project that was given to St. Timothy Construction Corporation for renovation? P30 million Filipino people’s money was funded there, but seven years have passed, until now it is still not finished,” Tulfo said.
Discaya, however, claimed that the Rizal Hall renovation has since been reassigned to another contractor.
The UP Manila University Student Council organized the said walkout event, which was followed by the White Colleges Protest Action at the University Library, before assembling at the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) parking lot.
“We support and encourage the expression of general outrage of our citizens, in accordance with the constitutionally guaranteed rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. The university views with the gravest concern the revelation of deep-seated and massive corruption plaguing the flood control projects in the country. We cannot stay neutral,” UP President Angelo Jimenez said.
He added that they support and encourage the “general outrage” of Filipinos, amid the recent issues surrounding the country’s flood control projects.
UP Manila declared in a statement read by Jimenez: “We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to safeguard the integrity of our procurement processes. We shall employ all legal means to ensure full accountability, in fulfillment of our continuing duty to serve the Filipino people.”
“Furthermore, we support the advocacy for fiscal governance reforms and greater transparency in the public sector to improve the delivery of services to our people,” the statement added.
The UP president said solutions are needed to the real problems of the people.
“Beyond raging against corruption, we must also harness our education and training to provide solutions to the real problems of our people. As the University of the People, it is our overarching moral responsibility,” Jimenez said.
On Thursday, protests were held denouncing the recent flood control scandal, with one held at EDSA Shrine led by opposition groups that included Tindig Pilipinas and Youth Against Kurakot.
