These two questions boxed beside The La Sallian’s masthead at the time that I took over as its first woman editor-in-chief in 1977 echoed the call by the UP Collegian’s editor-in-chief Ditto Sarmiento. My editorial board and I took this call seriously, pushing the edges of the envelope within the system enforced by the University Board of Review (UBR).
When martial law was declared in 1972, student publications were closed down. To give back a semblance of a normal society, student publications were eventually allowed to exist albeit under the watchful eye of school administrations. In La Salle, the UBR was formed, composed of five faculty members tasked to ensure that the articles we print would not catch the eye of the military.
By the start of school year 1977-78, the UBR had tightened its control of the student paper, with guidelines that had to be strictly observed. Blueprint for an issue had to be submitted to the UBR for approval, and after printing, a copy of the actual printed issue had to be approved before we could circulate the newspaper to the students.
After blueprint review of one issue, the UBR told us to delete or reword certain paragraphs, which we did. Later, they told us to delete some articles, which we did, but we left blank spaces where the articles were supposed to be, with the notation “CENSORED” or “DELETED”. Things came to a head, however when the articles that they disapproved were no longer about the national situation but about the school itself. The UBR was preventing the students from voicing their opinions about what was happening internally within the school. That was outright suppression of our rights as students and an attack on academic freedom.
The UBR filed a complaint against The La Sallian editorial board for failing to follow its guidelines. In turn, we said that “The UBR has imposed its own criteria of which ideas are ‘worth’ publishing. Their standards are patently unfair and excessively restrictive. By hampering the freedom of thought and analysis, the Board mocks the ideals of truth and reason the academe is pledged to uphold.”
The La Sallian editorial board was found guilty by an investigative panel and given the choice of either paying for the printing cost of the publication ourselves (the school administration collected student publication fees during enrollment and released publication expenses as incurred) or closing it down. We therefore stopped publication from December 1977 to April 1978, as a protest against the repressive policies of the school. The editorial board approached Senator Jose Diokno, himself a La Salle alumnus, to help mediate the situation. To allow publication of The La Sallian to continue into the coming schoolyear with a new editorial board, we printed a very short apology to the UBR in April 1978.
And now 48 years later, those two questions still challenge me.
Kung hindi tayo kikibo, sino ang kikibo? Continue to speak truth to power.
In May this year, the cutting of decades-old trees along Quirino Avenue in Malate raised more than eyebrows among netizens. I confess to being one, and while my initial reaction was to share posts about it, the audacity and speed with which the tree removal was being done led me to take action. A case, still pending as of now, was filed with the regional trial court in Manila to prevent the removal of any more trees. In June, the project proponent announced that they voluntarily stopped the tree cutting. For now.
I found out that the tree removal was being done as part of a major unsolicited public-private partnership project called the Southern Access Link Expressway (SALEX). This is a six-lane elevated expressway that would be put ON TOP of Roxas Boulevard from the Cavitex exit to Pedro Gil, where it would turn, then go onto A. Mabini, Padre Faura, San Marcelino and Ayala Blvd. It would continue in Tondo and Navotas all the way to the airport being built in Bulacan. It could destroy the communities along its path, severely affecting residents and institutions – schools, hospitals and even the Supreme Court itself. Heat island effect from the concrete, noise and air pollution, lack of sunlight and greenery, flooding and earthquake collapse are risks that could make these vibrant areas unlovable if not unlivable.
SALEX is an atrocity threatening Manila that needs to be stopped, even as construction is already ongoing along some segments of its 40-km length. The Stop SALEX Movement composed of institutions, organizations and individuals is conducting information campaigns, and community actions while liaising directly with government units that have a direct say about this project. We can still stop it.
Kung hindi tayo kikilos, sino ang kikilos?
(The author acknowledges the research done by Deo Cruzado for his 2022 undergraduate thesis “The Lasallian in the Face of Repression: A History of Lasallian Student Publications during Martial Law (1972-1986)” for some of the information stated above.)
Editor’s note: This is an unedited submission from a former editor of The LaSallian, challenging censorship during Martial Law to opposing the proposed Southern Access Link Expressway. It underscores the enduring responsibility of campus journalism to speak truth to power.
Menie Reyes was born in Manila, where both her grandfathers were born, and both her parents were raised. Her father, four brothers, husband Jun Odulio, four children, and two in-laws are all La Salle alumni. She graduated summa cum laude with a BS Math-Physics degree and worked in information technology within the banking industry. After an early retirement, she got involved in environmental work, becoming active in the Philippine Native Plants Conservation Society, Inc (PNPCSI) in which she served as president from 2017-2020. She is a co-convenor of the Save Arroceros Movement and of the newly-formed Stop SALEX Movement.