Press Release
March 5, 2008

KIKO TO DEPED: DON'T SUPPRESS ACADEMIC FREEDOM!

With news of DepEd's instruction to 'insulate' students from politics in light of NBN ZTE witness Jun Lozada's campus rounds to gather support, Senate Majority Leader and Independent senator Kiko Pangilinan today scored the "Worsening suppression of our freedoms."

"DepEd's use of its influence over school executives to not politicize the education sector is an irony because this move suggests a political motive. Our educational institutions have academic freedom that we must uphold, and DepEd should know when it is stepping on this line," Kiko said.

The DepEd has asked officials from public and private elementary and secondary schools nationwide to protect students from politics.

"In the history of our country, the participation of students in political matters has been significant. As a former student activist, it is in this involvement in matters of national interest that opened my eyes in the realities of our society. We cannot deprive our students of this same learning! We must let them discover that lessons are learned not just inside the classroom," Kiko asserted.

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