MESSAGE: Competence is nothing without conscience! Conscience is more important than competence!

(Message of Fr. Karel San Juan, President of the Ateneo de Davao University, to the students who walked out of their classrooms on Tuesday, 23 September 2025 to express their rage against corruption)

DAVAO CITY(MindaNews / 25 September) — As President of Ateneo de Davao University, I support this academic walkout! I am very proud of you! I will say a few words.

In the Senate hearing this morning, more numbers of corruption are pouring in and flooding us. Delivered to corrupt politicians on a regular basis: 50 million pesos per maleta!

How many maletas? Twenty maletas!

A total of one billion in cold cash

Transported regularly to hotels and rich subdivisions, resulting, resulting in substandard buildings and projects in Bulacan and other places. This means lives and well-being of people at risk, including students in school buildings and patients in hospitals.

This mobilization shows your opposition and your anger towards corruption.

This mobilization manifests your disgust towards people who use power for greed, for limitless greed, going by millions, billions, trillions!

This mobilization means many things. It means that you detest politics and governance that betray public trust. It means that you reject politicians and government employees and businesses who steal money from the people.

It means you denounce people who are insensitive and numbed, manhid to the suffering of the poor. It means that you denounce, you reject, you abhor this greed, this malice, this brazen dishonesty, this rampant lying and cover-ups, this pure evil in the hearts, this pure evil in the hearts and minds of these people.

This mobilization also means that you choose peacefully and non-violently, that you make a stand, that you choose honesty and integrity, that you choose power and to use this power to serve others and not yourself!) That you stand for accountability for all this lying, for all this systematic manipulation and stealing, for this institutionalized collusion of the corrupt, for this very bad culture of patronage politics!

And so, we call, ano nga chant natin? (Students: kulong na yan, mga kurakot. Ikulong na yan, mga kurakot! Ikulong na yan, mga kurakot)

Ok. Jail. We want the following: Jail all the corrupt! Return all stolen money to the people! Fight for truth! Fight for integrity!

In the Ateneo, we train you well. You are in one of the best universities in the Philippines!

We train you to have competence, to have world-class skills, to be effective, to be effective and successful in the world!

In the Ateneo, however, we do not train you to be competently, effectively and successfully corrupt! We do not train you to be effectively evil! In the Ateneo, competence and conscience are important. Competence is nothing without conscience! Conscience is more important than competence!

Ateneans, may konsyensya ba kayo? May konsyensya ba kayo? Pagkatapos nyo sa Ateneo, may konsyensya pa ba kayo? Promise? Promise? In the Ateneo, we want you to be students and graduates of competence and conscience, compassion to the poor, centeredness in God, whoever your God is! Competence, conscience, compassion, God-centeredness! Okay.

Engineers, raise your hand! Engineers. Engineering students! Engineering students! Accountancy students! Business students and management! Entrepreneurs, lawyers, public servants and professionals who will serve God and country and not yourselves!

Struggling and strong in living out values, consistent in word and action, shining to the world in credibility, outstanding in integrity, in the face of your many, many temptations! Tempted ba kayo? Tempted ba kayo?

In the face of temptations, of uncontrolled greed, wealth and power, you’re strong and steadfast, you’re strong in faith, fortes… fortes in fide.

Finally, and now I ask you, ask you, respond to me. Will you be strong in resisting these temptations?

Will you fight for truth, justice and accountability? Will you be… Will you be peaceful and non-violent?

Will you serve God and country? This is the Ateneo way.

Let’s fight for the Ateneo way. Mabuhay kayong lahat