Pablo John to join protest today against UP closure

CEBU, Philippines – Cebu third district Rep. Pablo John Garcia and Governor Gwendolyn Garcia will be seeking audience today with University of the Philippines President Emerlinda Roman to discuss as to how to save the UP-Cebu High School Department from closure.

UP high school students as well as college students and alumni will be staging a rally today against the downsizing of enrollment in the said department.

“I hope president Roman will listen to the voice of the community,” Pablo John said, who is a member of UP-Cebu High School Batch 1984.

He said he will be compelled to take up the cudgels in bringing up some concerns regarding the UP Cebu to Congress.

Pablo John wants to “know from the administration if there is enough funding from the UP Cebu” and “if the report is true that the allocation of resources of UP Visayas is getting minimal resources” and if that is the reason for the closure.

“I will be asking the oversight committee in the distribution mao nga naalaot ang UP Cebu,” Pablo John said.

He further said that the provincial government is willing to extend help and save the department by putting up a UP School for the Performing Arts here.

“It has been there for a long time. It is important for its continuity,” Pablo John said, adding that UP High School “offers something that others don’t.”

Last year, students from the UP-Visayas Cebu College staged a protest to the government’s plan of phasing out the high school department.

The protesting students said that the closure of the state high school only aggravates the crisis in Philippine education and intensifies the commercialization of the university by abolishing the so-called non-income generating, non-marketable programs. — Garry B. Lao/MEEV (THE FREEMAN)