Yesterday’s Blog Action Day, in tandem with the National Day of Education, was a very fruitful one, as symbolized by the freeing of the “PUP 5″.
Not only did the PUP Administration drop the criminal charges against the five student leaders, the PUP Board of Regents also passed a resolution disapproving any tuition and other fee increases for the next school year.
Many also participated in the Blog Action Day by posting our official status message
Everyone has the right to a quality and accessible education. If you agree, please post this as …

Kabataan Partylist today decried the junking of the rebellion case against the Ampatuans and other suspects in the gruesome Maguindanao massacre.
Members of Kabataan Partylist and the College Editors Guild of the Philippines held a candle-lighting protest at the Boy Scout Monument in Quezon City this evening to condemn the court’s decision.
“We have expected this. The rebellion case filed against them was designed and programmed to exonerate the Ampatuans at the onset. The rebellion case served as their defense against multiple murder charges. This is Arroyo and her allies at work,” …

Students from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) drew in massive support from students from other schools and personalities today in a Youth Action Day against tuition hikes and for higher state subsidy for education.
Despite classes being over, almost 1,000 youth and students gathered together in front of the Manila Police District where the PUP5 is currently being detained.
Today marks the fifth day since five students from PUP were arrested and detained by the police after a rally protesting the 1,700 percent proposed tuition hike in PUP. The students …

Representative Raymond ‘Mong’ Palatino today congratulated the new bar-passers and urged them to take a stand on the SC decision allowing President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to appoint the next Supreme Court Chief Justice.
He said that the newest set of bar passers should not allow their profession to be tainted by doubts and controversies.
“Our new young lawyers should uphold the Constitution. They should not allow GMA to control and consolidate the judiciary for her own interests.”
Palatino said that the next chief justice, his or her independence and non-partisanship, will have great …

Students sued for “robbery”, bail set at P100k each
Kabataan Partylist Representative Raymond ‘Mong’ Palatino today said that the robbery case filed against five students of the  Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) is a clear form of harassment by the PUP administration.
Palatino particularly questioned the ‘necessity and fairness’ of filing a criminal offense against students ‘who were merely practicing their academic freedom and freedom of expression.’
The youth solon said that he feared that the robbery case, with a bail set for 100 thousand pesos per respondent, might be the PUP …

This week was marked by several student actions that successfully prevented moves to make education less accessible. Among the policies that were either delayed or prevented are:

an almost-2000% tuition hike in the Polytechnic University of the Philippines
approval of tuition hike proposals in most of the 233 private schools that violated consultation guidelines

However, many issues continue to affect the Filipino youth’s right to a quality and accessible education, such as the continued implementation of forced graduation fees, and the ‘no permit, no exam’ policy, as well as tuition and other fee …

In a public dialogue with Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raymond Palatino held in the rally of Iskolars ng Bayan from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) and University of the Philippines (UP) against tuition hikes this afternoon, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairman Emmanuel Angeles categorically and clearly declared that no tuition hike will be approved or implemented in PUP.
Angeles made the announcement in front of the national media and hundreds of students.
“This is an important victory of the Iskolar ng Bayan. We attribute this victory to the resounding unity …

Students from the University of the Philippines (UP) and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) today merged their protest actions to seek emergency allocation from the government for state colleges and universities.
UP students from the Diliman, Los Banos, Baguio and Manila campuses held a rally this morning to block the UP Board of Regents from approving additional fees in the university, including a P100 hike in PE  fees and P1,000 to P2,500 per unit hike in graduate classes.
The students were able to successfully block two UP regents from entering …

Comelec urged to investigate and review accreditation of bogus PLs
Kabataan Partylist Second Nominee Mark Louie Aquino today urged the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to investigate and review the accreditation of 38 Malacanang-backed partylists.
“The people behind these 38 partylists are all Arroyo allies. Some of them are partylists included in the 2007 Office of External Affairs memo while others are being fielded by Cabinet members and known allies of the Arroyo administration,” Aquino said.
The OEA memo was exposed last 2007 elections by progressive partylists. In the …