The Ateneans behind the call for an academic strike at the Ateneo De Manila University President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement that they should not worry about the government’s response to the impacts of Typhoons Rolly and Ulysses and pandemic.
“You are taking the cudgels of the poor ahead of your time. That is not your worry, that is the worry of government,” Duterte said on Tuesday night.
In a statement, the students said the President should “stop talking nonsense.”
“Our worry is justified because you have neglected to do the work demanded from a person in office. Ano ang silbi ninyo? Wala,” the students said.
“We will continue with the strike as long as you keep killing Filipinos with your incompetence,” they added.
Over 500 Ateneans have called for a mass student strike to protest the government’s alleged “criminally neglectful response” to typhoon Rolly and Ulysses.
ADMU’s official student newspaper, The Guidon, the students’ call to university to “concentrate all efforts into helping the most vulnerable citizens of the Philippines.”
“We believe that things cannot continue business as usual. We can no longer stomach the ever-rising number of deaths due to the state’s blatant incompetence. We cannot prioritize our schoolwork when our countrymen are suffering unnecessarily at the hands of those in power,” said the students’ statement.
Ateneans call Duterte useless amid calls for academic strike
“We strike in solidarity with the students who are victims of calamities and of COVID-19, who cannot be expected to catch up with their studies within three to five working days,” it also said.
“In addition, many Atenean students are leading or are part of initiatives that address what the Duterte administration has not been responsive to. On top of their responsibilities, these students have gone the extra mile to help our fellow Filipinos who are in dire need of assistance,” it added.
Earlier, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque told the Ateneans calling for academic strike they would fail and not graduate.
“Babagsak po kayo,” Roque said in an interview. “Bilang isang dating propesor, kahit anong dahilan ng sinasabi niyong strike, ‘pag hindi kayo sumunod sa academic requirements, mawawalan kayo ng kinabukasan.”
“Hindi kayo makaka-graduate sa Ateneo,” he warned.