Roxas never even posted a Twitter or Facebook message to support the students. Mar Roxas photo from Wikipedia

In an unprecedented press release, the office of Senator Manuel Roxas II claimed that it was because of the Senator, and current vice-presidential candidate, why the almost 2,000% tuition hike in the Polytechnic University of the Philippines was shelved. If that was not insulting enough, he dismissed and belittled the students who fought against the proposal by describing them simply as “unruly” the same way the perfumed gatekeepers of “civility” have been demonizing their militant actions.

Mr. Roxas never spoke up against the proposal to increase tuition in the largest state university of the country. In fact, in his entire career as a senator, a congressman and an economist, he has been tolerating and promoting the liberalization of education in the country which has lead to the increasing commercialization and privatization of our state universities and colleges.

Ka Satur Ocampo personally went to the PUP Sta. Mesa campus to deliver words of solidarity to protesting students. He had just come from COMELEC after filing a disqualification case against presidential son Mikey Arroyo who is running for Congress under a fraudulent party-list

Only senatorial candidate and Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo and fellow senatorial candidate and Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza also spoke up against the tuition increase and linked it to the Arroyo government’s policy of state abandonment of higher education. Only Satur Ocampo went to the PUP campus in Sta. Mesa to join the protests of the students. That same day, he went to visit the Manila Police District HQ to boost the morale of the detained students, charged with trumped up cases of robbery after attempting to bring their dilapidated chairs to the Commission on Higher Education to show the sorry state of their school.

Notwithstanding lack of sleep from an entire day of campaigning, Ka Satur proceeded to the Manila Police District HQ to support and boost the morale of the PUP student leaders detained for protesting against the tuition hike. Ka Satur was once also detained in the same precinct for fighting the abuses of the Arroyo government.

Among the presidential candidates, only Bangon Pilipinas bet Eddie Villanueva spoke up in support of the student protests against the tuition hike in his alma mater. In fact, he also even went to the Manila Police District HQ to support the detained students and to deliver a message of solidarity to the protesting youths.

There was never a Mar Roxas.

Post-Script: This entry goes without saying that of course, Kabataan Partylist has from the beginning always been at the forefront of the campaign to stop the tuition increase in PUP and other state colleges and universities and of the campaign to increase state subsidy for education and other social services.

Also, a few days into the protests, senatorial candidate Adel Tamano issued a statement that he vows to push for the rechanneling of debt servicing payments to education by repealing the Automatic Appropriations Act that has burdened Filipinos with inadequate social services and increasing costs of education and health care.

Still, no Mar Roxas.