ACT slams PNP for issuing subpoenas to student leaders

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) condemned the Philippine National Police (PNP) for issuing subpoenas to student leaders who participated in anti-corruption protests.

Subpoenas were reportedly issued to student council leaders of UP-Diliman and Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), a PUP campus journalist, and a Kabataan Kontra Korapsyon member.

UP Diliman University Student Council Chairperson Joaquin Buenaflor stated that he is the fourth youth leader issued a subpoena for joining the protest last month.

Buenaflor criticized the PNP for targeting students instead of corrupt officials, stating that police should have subpoenaed politicians and contractors involved in corruption.

The UP Diliman Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs said it is assisting Buenaflor and called the subpoena an attack on academic freedom and the right to dissent.

The university stated that "calling out irregularities in government processes is not only a right; it is a shared social responsibility of all Filipinos committed to truth, justice, and good governance."

ACT vice chairperson Carl Marc Ramota characterized the subpoenas as a clear case of intimidation that violates academic freedom and the right to expression.