President Noynoy Aquino’s speech at the commemoration of national hero Jose Rizal’s 150 birth anniversary has earned the ire of a national youth group. The group Anakbayan decried what it called ‘a desperate attempt to salvage a failing presidency’, saying it was highly insulting for the national hero to be connected to any programs and policies of the current administration.
“It is the likes of the ‘Governor-General’ and Friars ‘Sibyla’ and ‘Salvi’ who would’ve walked Aquino’s ‘Daang Matuwid’, and not Rizal” said Vencer Crisostomo, Anakbayan’s national chairperson, referring to some of the protagonists in Rizal’s novel El Filibusterismo.
The youth leader said that while the national hero emphasized the importance of education, President Aquino has adopted policies which continue to restrict access of the youth to learning.
“Who knows how many future ‘Rizals’ among the eight million out-of-school youths today have been denied the chance to realize their potential, simply because they couldn’t afford going to school? In fact, it’s highly unlikely ‘Pepe’ himself could’ve enrolled in the Ateneo and UST today with its skyrocketing tuition and other fees” he said.
Crisostomo also pointed out was the ongoing massive displacement of both rural and urban poor families today is similar to what Rizal’s family experience when they were ejected by Spanish friars from their farm in Calamba, Laguna. Today, tens of thousands of farmers and indigenous peoples are being evicted from their lands due to Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects such as a 30,000 hectare biofuel plantation in Isabela. Meanwhile, half a million families in Metro Manila are also facing the same fate due to PPP projects such as the Quezon City Central Business District and the National Government Center.
“More than a century ago, Rizal’s family was ejected from their farmlands by Spanish friars. Today, more than half a million families are facing the same fate to make way for Aquino’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects
“’Manong Pepe’ would certainly have been disgusted with the ways things are going under Noynoy. In fact, he’d be among the 45-and-counting victims of extra-judicial killings under Noynoy. At the very least, he would have suffered the same fate as the Calamba 8” said Crisostomo, referring to eight activists who were arrested today in a lightning rally at the rites commemorating Rizal’s 150 birth anniversary in Calamba, Laguna. ###
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