FATHER Roberto Yap, president of the Ateneo de Manila University, on Wednesday affirmed the right of students to call for a nationwide academic strike to protest what they perceived as the government’s response to the Covid19 pandemic and to the recent calamities that hit the country.

Earlier, the university distanced itself from the student protests. The students demanded accountability for government’s alleged “criminal negligence” in handling the aftermath of typhoons and the pandemic.

On Friday, November 20, university officials merely acknowledged the protests and clarified that these were “not in any way sanctioned by the University”.

However on Wednesday, Yap supported the call of at least 500 Ateneans and asked the entire Ateneo community to “unite in the face of the various challenges”, and said that recent events have highlighted the need to dig deeper.

Yap’s message, entitled “A Call to Solidarity & Creative Action” quoted the call of Pope Francis in his latest encyclical for “a better kind of politics, one truly at the service of the common good.”

“I am heartened in seeing students express grievances as well as call for compassion for those affected by the crisis. I affirm the right of citizens to hold their government accountable in its duty to serve and help those affected by the pandemic and the calamities,” he said.

He said the Jesuit education upholds the truth that “we are co-responsible in building a society able to include, integrate and lift up those who have fallen or are suffering.”

“The sense of human solidarity is felt strongly within our university community — students, faculty, professionals, staff, administrators, alumni, and parents. We strive to foster a culture of ‘listening-to-the-other’ and the capacity for collaborative action,” Yap stressed.

The call for an academic strike “manifest a consistency across generations,” he added.

“In line with our education mission, we recognize differing positions by offering various options consistent with our objective of integral formation for those who wish to engage in protest actions,” Yap said.