On February 12, Wednesday, Presidents of Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, Miriam College, and the University of the Philippines issued a Joint Statement re-stating their condemnation of the misuse of public funds by some government officials. The statement was posted in UP website.
The full text of the Joint Statement is as follows:
THE TRUTH SHALL SET US FREE: Joint Statement of ADMU, DLSU, Miriam College and UP System on Continued Vigilance on the Pork Barrel Issue
The truth, it is oft retold, will set us free – including those who
thrive on falsehood and those who should therefore be held accountable
and punished for crimes committed against the Filipino people.
We, Presidents of various Philippine Universities and Colleges,
restate our collective condemnation of the misuse of public funds by
unscrupulous government officials and their conniving associates. We
join the sustained clamor of the people to end the deeply-entrenched
culture of graft, corruption and patronage in our political system.
We have in the past called on the faculty, students, staff, and
alumni of our respective academic institutions, as well as those of
other schools, to tap our institutional capacities in analyzing the
complex issues related to corruption and public accountability, such as
the extent of discretion exercised by government officials in the use of
public funds, the implementation of projects, the public accounting
system, and public budgeting; and to discern from this analysis the
solutions that are actionable and sustained. We renew our call for
mobilization and participation in activities that will promote greater
transparency and accountability in the country.
With the most recent surfacing of another witness/whistle-blower
claiming to cast additional light on the “Napoles-related” acts of abuse
of public funds, we make this added plea for academic communities and
the rest of Philippine society to take a keen interest in, and to
patriotically support, the emergence of the truth and the requisite acts
of justice and reparation that must follow from the truth. We ask the
institutions tasked by law to ensure transparency and accountability in
public service to expedite their investigations of the Napoles-related
abuse of public funds and all other such cases of thievery in public
service. We insist that the appropriate cases against public officials
involved in corruption and plunder be filed and prosecuted with the
dispatch due not only the accused and the respondents but the aggrieved
and victimized nation even more.
The answer, not oft sung anymore, is blowing (and whistling) in the
wind. Will we never tire of asking “how many times can a man turn his
head, pretending he just doesn’t see?” Let the answers we seek be found
not just in the wind, but in our very selves. As institutions of higher
learning, we send word to our nation that we shall keep vigil until the
truth is told and we at last are free.
Jose Ramon T Villarin SJ Br Ricardo P Laguda FSC Rosario O Lapus PhD Alfredo E Pascual
President President President President
Ateneo de Manila De La Salle University Miriam College University of the Philippines
President President President President
Ateneo de Manila De La Salle University Miriam College University of the Philippines
