ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro on Saturday raised concern over the continuing purge of progressive books in university libraries.

The teacher solon is further alarmed at the Commission on Higher Education’s reaction justifying the removal of progressive books and violating the Constitution by repressing academic freedom.

“We are appalled with the Commission on Higher Education for its justification of its regional memorandum encouraging the removal of progressive books in the libraries of state universities and colleges,” Castro said.

“The institution that should be protecting academic freedom and ensuring that schools are sanctuaries for free and critical thinking, with its memorandum and the justification of the CHED chair to simply respect the decision of other SUCs, is acting as an agent in the attacks on academic freedom,” Castro further said.

Last Oct. 21, CHED Cordillera director Demetrio Anduyan Jr. issued Regional Memorandum No. 113 calling on higher education institutions to take part in the region-wide removal of subversive materials both in libraries and online platforms.

Castro, together with other congressmen, filed House Resolution 2290 urging the House of Representatives to conduct an investigation on the dubious removal of books and other reading materials from State University libraries for supposed ‘subversive’ contents.

“We do not want to make a generation of robots and blind followers who are not able to think for themselves,” she said.

The lady solon stressed CHED chair Prospero De Vera III should not belittle the decisions of other universities as mere administrative decisions.

“It was a CHED memo in the region that encouraged such removal of books in the libraries. It has to be accountable for such purging in the libraries of schools and universities,” Castro explained.

She warned the attacks on academic freedom, the campaign to revise history and curtail books from being available in libraries will have long lasting effects in Philippine culture and society.

“Further limiting education institutions of their academic freedom erases its essence and further tramples the right of our youth to have access to quality education,” Castro stressed.