21/06/2026
THE MARCOS NAME AND THE UNIVERSITY OF THE MASSES
Four decades apart, the attack remains the same. TWO MARCOSES have tried to use our university not for the working class, but to serve foreign interests and big corporations.
In 1978, during Martial Law, Ferdinand Marcos Sr. signed Presidential Decree 1341, converting PUP into a "polytechnic university." The state calls this a blessing, but it was actually a World Bank dictate to TURN US INTO A FACTORY for cheap labor. The goal was to mass-produce technical workers for foreign monopolies to exploit.
But the state failed to silence us. Through militant struggle, alongside former University President Nemesio Prudente, we reclaimed this space and established it as the "UNIVERSITY OF THE MASSES." It was under Prudente's visionary leadership that our very own College of Computer and Information Sciences (CCIS)—formerly CCMIT—was founded with the goal of democratizing technology for the working class.
Since then, we have fought tooth and nail to force the state to honor the provision within PD 1341 that LEGALLY OBLIGATES the government to fund our education.
Now, Marcos Jr. is finishing what his father started.
Some think Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is an ally because he vetoed the previous National Polytechnic University (NPU) Bill. THIS IS A DANGEROUS ILLUSION! He vetoed it because, for his regime and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the bill didn't pressure the university enough. PUP will only get the National University status if we comply with the STRICT CHECKLIST and leveling standards of CHED and DBM.
Because of this, the PUP administration is scrambling to artificially inflate our ranking. They are aggressively forcing colleges like CCIS to bleed for international accreditations like ISO and PICAB. These 'global standards' mask the reality of a 1:109 FULL-TIME FACULTY RATIO and 2,833 STUDENTS crammed into just seven laboratories in CCIS. They are turning our colleges into CORPORATE SHOWROOMS, proving to the state that we are highly profitable and ripe for commercialization.
Marcos Jr. used his veto to force allies in Congress to draft a much worse version. The new bills openly admit they were ADJUSTED SPECIFICALLY to satisfy CHED and DBM.
This is where the trap closes. The biggest danger of the new NPU Bill is that it will COMPLETELY REPEAL PD 1341 and the state's obligation to subsidize us. Commercialization will no longer just be an option. The NPU Bill grants the university EXPANDED CORPORATE POWERS, making it a legal mandate for the administration to generate its own income by leasing out its lands, entering joint ventures, and outsourcing its workers.
To our fellow Iskolars ng Bayan: HISTORY IS CHALLENGING US. PUP stands at the forefront as one of the last remaining universities for the masses. We cannot let our generation be the reason why the children of farmers and workers lose their right to study, all because we fell for the POISON OF THE NPU BILL.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. We must hold the Marcoses accountable for their endless attacks on our rights. WE ARE NOT AGAINST PROGRESS. We are against a 'progress' that trades our rights for corporate profit and masks state abandonment. We demand a university that is truly funded, truly free, and truly serving the people.
We will never surrender the last sanctuary of the poor!
JUNK THE NPU BILL!
DO NOT SURRENDER THE UNIVERSITY OF THE MASSES!
FIGHT THE COMMERCIALIZATION AND PRIVATIZATION OF EDUCATION!
DEMAND 100% FULL STATE SUBSIDY FOR PUP AND ALL SUCS!
