Only 15, Student Confronts Military-Backed Political Repression in Quezon City School - Bulatlat

Pressured by the military, officials of a high school in Quezon City rejected the enrollment of a student activist. She could only enroll at the school, they told her, if she signed a waiver that would prohibit her from participating in protest actions and rallies. Aghast and angry, the student decided to fight back.

By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Bulatlat

MANILA – Protests and mass actions are not new to Phoebe Kate Tubera. The daughter of parents who are activists, she knows that sometimes taking to the streets to express a conviction is a perfectly legitimate exercise, a right every Filipino is entitled to enjoy.

As an activist herself, dissent and fighting for what is right are something that Tubera learned to value early on.

Then one day in May, Tubera found herself confronting political repression, which tested the progressive values she imbibed from her parents.

Pressured by the military, officials at her school in Quezon City told Tubera that she could not be enrolled because she was an activist. She could only enroll if she signed a waiver promising never to participate in protest actions again.

Tubera was aghast. This, she told Bulatlat in a recent interview, is precisely why she is an activist. “I know that the rights of the youth and of students have been greatly abused by people in authority,” Tubera said.

Angry, Tubera refused to sign the waiver and decided to fight it.

Phoebe Kate Tubera is only 15 years old. She is the chairperson of the League of Filipino Students – High School. She has been a member of the organization for only a year now.

What happened to her that day, May 28, when the principal of the Culiat High School in Quezon City refused to accept her unless she signed a waiver, is a result of the ongoing militarization of schools and campuses in Metro Manila, according to the LFS and the office of Kabataan Rep. Raymond Palatino, which intervened in Tubera’s behalf.

Read more at: Only 15, Student Confronts Military-Backed Political Repression in Quezon City School - Bulatlat

League of Filipino Students: http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Field/4927/lfs/lfs2.htm