Principled disagreement and anonymous black propaganda: A challenge

Over the past few days, I have been receiving reports of anonymous efforts to bring down Alex Castro in the race for USC Chair. As a fellow candidate and in behalf of UP ALYANSA, I wish to voice my strongest condemnation against these malicious attempts.

The campaign is a time not just to show off each candidate's and each political party's strengths and victories, but also a time to educate and to engage in a healthy, passionate, and principled discourse.

In the earlier part of this week, members of ALYANSA made a principled disagreement with Alex Castro's citation of wrong information on the sin tax law. Rooted in our advocacy to make this campaign more about platforms and less about personalities, we demanded an apology from Alex Castro and a retraction of the misinformation that the 15% allocation for tobacco farmers has been stricken off the sin tax law. To this day, we have not received any apology or retraction; so, our principled disagreement and demand continue.

But when a supposed screenshot of an alleged chat conversation between Alex and a "friend" cropped up, I was personally disappointed. Today, a perverted statement entitled "Sex Will Fix" was released in different areas in campus.

These are exactly what ALYANSA has been campaigning against. While we make sure to maintain our principled disagreement with Alex Castro and KAISA on the level of issues and platforms, efforts like these serve as roadblocks to our dream of an informed student body.

The anonymity of these efforts reveals exactly their purpose: Nothing more than to regress to personality politics and blur this campaign into becoming a pageant of reputations rather than clear platforms. I personally challenge the people behind these efforts to come into the open and make a principled choice to inform, rather than to maliciously attack. I challenge the people behind these to reveal their identities and the USC Chair candidate they support, if any, so the students may decide for themselves what to make of the propaganda.

As student leaders, it is our duty to inform and shape the debates in campus to become a discourse of principles, integrity, ideology, and platforms. This campaign is not about me; it is not about Alex Castro's alleged chat messages or motives. This campaign is about the students and their right to make an informed choice on their next University Student Council.

Carlo Brolagda
ALYANSA USC Chairperson candidate
February 20, 2013

Abusing the Right to Free Speech: A Response to the Death Threats Directed to USC Chair Heart Diño

UP ALYANSA strongly condemns the death threats directed to USC Chairperson Heart Diño.

Heart Diño, being the Chairperson of the University Student Council, is a public figure to the student body. She has the right to act and voice her opinions in her personal capacity, yet her actions will always be subjected to public scrutiny. Recently, her actions and opinions have received such criticisms and contentions. We respect this circumstance but for several cases it has gone too far: certain people have threatened to hurt or even kill her. These cases exceed what is warranted as free speech or opinionated criticism. These threats of violence must not be tolerated.

The first few death threats came immediately after Heart’s election as USC Chair. Although these threats were made online, they must not be taken lightly. For one, a certain Rey Refran is calling for others to participate in her assassination. The violent tone is evident as he threatened to “plant a bullet in her” and even offered to personally “be the hitman”. Aside from these, several comments also attack Heart on the aspect of her gender, referring to her derogatorily. Such violent and despicable statements cannot be accepted. Although we exercise the right to free speech, this right must be exercised responsibly; criticism can be reasonably presented without violence or prejudice towards any person's gender, race, beliefs, etc.

As Iskolars para sa Bayan, we cannot condone such threats of violence. We must be careful to ensure that the criticisms we present are sensible and sensitive, not promoting violence or hate.

What is your stand regarding the leadership crisis in the University Student Council?

ALYANSA believes that being a student leader is commendable, as one who chooses a life of service to his fellow students often sacrifice for their good. In seeking student empowerment, which is one of our core principles, student leaders sacrifice their time, effort and even money in order to pursue causes that are bigger than themselves. For those reasons, we thank our student leaders, regardless of their political affiliation or color, because they heeded the call to serve.

Nonetheless, being a student leader also means having to set a higher bar for oneself, in order to cope up with the demands of being a STUDENT, and being a LEADER. None has to be sacrificed, if one is to be up to the task of being a student leader. Hence, if a student leader manages to sacrifice his academics, to the point of academic delinquency, he does a disservice, to the students that he serves, and the nation that provides for his education.

Let us be clear that this issue regarding the leadership crisis in the University Student Council is NOT PERSONAL. It is an issue of principles, of holding oneself accountable. If the University Student Council is still bent on upholding the USC Chairperson's tenure, in spite of clear rules mandating that he relinquish his post, they are squandering their integrity and moral ascendancy. True enough, some colleges have already expressed their position for the USC Chairperson to resign, else they will not recognize the Council as a truly representative body.

We reiterate our call for our USC Chairperson to uphold honor and excellence. We call on him to muster his courage, do the right thing, and resign from his post. To do nothing less is not a shame, but a badge of integrity.