Ateneo de Davao college faculty: “Let us refuse the silence that enables corruption”
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 14 September) – The Executive Board of the College Faculty Union of the Ateneo de Davao University is urging fellow Filipinos to “refuse the silence that enables corruption,” and its students to “refuse to inherit a broken nation without a fight,” to let their voices be loud, their convictions firm and their actions bold. “Your patriotic professors will stand with you.”
The union’s calls were made in a statement released Sunday — ”A Prophetic Call for National Transformation: Confronting Corruption, Restoring Integrity, Reclaiming the Nation” – following a decision made at the board’s meeting last Saturday.
It said the recent scandal involving the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the two houses of Congress, and private contractors is not merely a political controversy but a mirror reflecting the “profound moral decay that has long infected our systems of governance.”
“This is not the failure of one office or one administration. It is the accumulated weight of decades of betrayal, where public service has been reduced to personal enrichment, and leadership has been stripped of integrity,” the union said.
Corruption, the 275-member union said, is a “moral crisis,” a “rebellion against truth, a mockery of justice, and a direct assault on the dignity of the Filipino people,” a “social sin that kills, steals from the poor, perpetuates political dynasty, distorts equity, and erodes the soul of the nation.”
Prof. Hadji Balajadia, President of the College Faculty Union, told MindaNews the statement was forged to “express our warmest solidarity to the yearning and movement of the basic sectors for transparency and accountability of our leaders.”
He said this is also in support of mass mobilizations against corruption, including “Baha sa Luneta: Aksyon na Laban sa Korapsyon” that students are organizing at the Luneta in Manila morning of September 21 and “A Trillion Peso March: Mahiya Kayo, Ikulong na” at the EDSA Shrine in the afternoon also on September 21, organized by the Church Leaders Council for National Transformation and civil society organizations.
“Thievery cannot be a norm in any decent society,” he added.
The union’s statement, however, stressed that transformation is possible and that the path to national renewal begins with “moral clarity, courageous truth-telling, and collective action.”
“National transformation is not a dream. It is a compelling demand. It begins now, with each of us. Let us build a Philippines where power serves the people, where truth is spoken without fear, and where justice flows like a mighty river,” the statement noted.
The union called on the public to “confront the systems and leaders that enable corruption, dismantle the culture of impunity, and rebuild our institutions on the foundation of justice and accountability.”
It added that as educators, conscience-bearers, and “citizens who refuse to be silent while en masse corruption continues to desecrate our institutions and derail our future,” they are called to form “not only minds but hearts; hearts that burn for righteousness, that resist complicity, and that labor for the common good.”
“This is the time to rise—not just in anger, but in hope; not in partisan division, but in collective moral unity,” the union urged fellow Filipinos. “Let us reject the lie that corruption is inevitable. Let us refuse the silence that enables it. Let us demand a new kind of leadership, one rooted in service, integrity, and truth,” the union said. (MindaNews)
No comments:
Post a Comment