#NeverAgain. #MarcosMagnanakaw. Marcos Diktador.
These were just some of the phrases used by participants in an online event organized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Cordillera Administrative Region (CHED-CAR) to protest the participation of Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos as one of the speakers.
CHED-CAR, on Tuesday, Oct. 5, organized a Student Congress to cover various “educational concerns” especially in higher education.
The two-day event (Oct. 5 and 6), CHED-CAR said, is in line with the vision of the Commission of achieving "Philippine higher education system that is equitable and producing locally responsive, innovative, and globally competitive graduates and lifelong learners.”
Along with Marcos, other speakers for the Student Congress include Dr. Joefrey Almazan, Dr. Ferdinand Bulusan, Prof. Andrew Macalma, Hon. Benjamin Magalong, Mark Conrad Ravanzo, Dr. Cleofas Basaen, Atty. Cinderella Jaro, Faustino Dy V, Prof. Jeffrey Ingosan, and Mark Go.
The presence of Sandro, the grandson of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, as a speaker did not sit well with some of the participants of the said webinar.
As a protest, they changed their display names to phrases related to the late dictator and Martial Law.
On Twitter, Akbayan Youth chairperson RJ Naguit shared photos of the incident.
Awww. Ayaw nila ng participative audience? Sad. #MarcosMagnanakaw #NeverAgain pic.twitter.com/ZVU1sURZMK
— RJ Naguit (@docrjnaguit) October 5, 2021
The topic given to Marcos was “Redefining the Role of Youth in Nation Building.”
To this, Naguit tweeted: “Wag na tayong maglokohan. Sandro Marcos is neither a representative of the youth nor has the credibility to talk about nation building. The Marcoses has plundered our country's wealth and killed a generation of heroes.”
Naguit also expressed disappointment the CHED for providing a “platform to this junior dictator whose only interest is to rehabilitate their family’s political power.”
The event happened on the same day his father, former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, announced his 2022 presidential bid.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/10/05/bongbong-announces-presidential-bid-this-is-the-noblest-of-causes/
In a separate tweet, Naguit said: “We must exert all means to prevent a Marcos comeback. Nagawa na natin ito noong 2019, wag rin natin hahayaan na makabalik sa 2022!”