As a nationwide outcry for government accountability echoes from social media platforms to the streets, community members of Silliman University (SU) took to Dumaguete streets to support the Trillion Peso March. Students, faculty, and alumni alike joined the anti-corruption rally, chanting their pleas while marching with banners in hand on Sept. 21.
While Sillimanians take part in the mass action, one question remains unanswered: Where does the SU administration stand amid all these? As of press time, the university has not released any statement on the public uproar over the alleged corruption in government projects—an effort already made by other educational institutions.
The calls for action followed the revelation of alleged anomalies in thousands of flood-control projects across the country. In his fourth SONA last July, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. exposed faulty infrastructure projects and later on detailed a list of companies that were given the biggest flood-control contracts under his administration.
The Department of Public Works and Highways estimated that trillions of pesos may have been lost to the anomalous projects which investigations found to be allegedly pocketed by government officials and the scheming contractors they partnered with.
In a system where corruption has long been entrenched, many politicians and businesses exploit public funds meant for vital services. What could have been used to finance programs for the mitigation of the effects of typhoons through infrastructures, provision of education, or betterment of the healthcare system instead turned into million-peso handbags, designer outfits, and foreign travels.
Numerous civic groups and student governments of some of the top institutions in the country have already expressed their strong condemnation of the corruption—the University of the Philippines, De La Salle University, University of Santo Tomas, and University of the St. La Salle among others.
Behind them are university administrators who were one in supporting and encouraging their members to join the cause in demanding for accountability and transparency.
Not only have these administrators become instrumental in pushing the youth to fight for their cause, but they have also chosen to stand as role models of justice for their countrymen. They show how educational institutions are unfazed by the money that has tempted many of the government’s branches.
Given its commitment to “instill in all members of the University community an enlightened social consciousness and a deep sense of justice and compassion,” however, the university administration has yet to clarify where it stands in this national issue.
While reasons for this silence remain unclear, the Weekly Sillimanian implores the university’s administration to make a position and take a stand alongside its members in holding those who abuse their power to account.
If Silliman has raised its students to speak and be socially conscious, then they should also support and encourage them to fully utilize the power that democracy has given.
