11/04/2023
FREE GRABRIEL MAGTIBAY! HANDS OFF ACTIVISTS! STOP THE ATTACKS!
The UPD College of Science FST Council is one with the CSSC and other councils and mass organizations in condemning the attacks done to UP CMC student and STAND UP Chairperson Gabriel Magtibay.
We denounce these incessant attacks done to activists and call for the immediate release of Gabriel Magtibay! Furthermore, we urge the government to put our country’s interests first and stop submitting to imperial powers that hinder our country’s growth and development!
FREE GABRIEL MAGTIBAY! HANDS OFF ACTIVISTS! STOP THE ATTACKS!
Earlier today, student-activists held protest action at the US Embassy against the Balikatan Exercises 2023. After the program, what was supposed to be a peaceful dispersal ended in the unjust arrest of UP CMC student and STAND UP Chairperson Gabriel “Mags” Magtibay, along with other activists. A report from the Manila Police District states that the students were arrested for vandalism and for violating the Public Assembly Act of 1985. Meanwhile, according to the Defend UP Network, four paralegals were also taken into custody.
The Balikatan Exercises 2023 between Philippine and US troops is set to begin today until April 28 which intensifies American military presence in the Philippines. It is the biggest US-PH Balikatan military exercise, bringing 12,000 US troops and four additional military bases in the Philippines. This, along with the wrongful arrest of the said student-activists, are examples of the state’s suppression of our rights and a clear manifestation of US imperialism in the country. It is clear who the military and the present administration intend to serve—not its people but the imperialist countries and its own interests. Not to mention, the US Military is the biggest polluter that contributes to the climate crisis we're now facing and not once did they make reparations to the countries affected by the said crisis.
We, the College of Science Student Council, strongly condemn all forms of attacks against activists like Mags and call for their immediate release. Free Gabriel Magtibay! Hands off activists! We also call for the junking of agreements that only tighten the imperialist grip of the US to the Philippines. US Troops, Out Now!