Ateneo, La Salle free to voice opinions: Palace
MANILA - The Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University communities are free to express their opposition to alleged extrajudicial killings and planned burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng Bayani as long as they do it in a peaceful manner, Malacañang said Saturday.
"We live in a democracy where everyone is entitled to give an opinion, air his grievance, or voice his solidarity or disagreement with the government as long as the means used is peaceful, legal, and constitutional,"said Presidential Communications Office chief Martin Andanar.
He issued the statement after AdMU and DLSU officials urged their members to wear blackduring Sunday's varsity basketball match to show solidarity with human rights victims.
The government will not stop the protest, Andanar said.
"As we learned in our class, “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it," he said.
The Palace official said the two universities should also use their resources in helping the community, especially in the fight against illegal drugs.
"Feel free, therefore, to express your concern on the burning issues of the day in the same way that we encourage both Ateneo and La Salle communities to step up and bring the blessings of their quality education by helping the government transform the many communities of the poor in our society," he said.
"The menace of illegal drugs has also swept away human rights and human lives which are some values we are taught in school," he added.
As of September 30, at least 1,864 drug-related deaths have been recorded, according to data culled by ABS-CBN. Of this number, 1,109 were killed in police operations while 616 by unidentified assailants.
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