J. PROSPERO E. DE VERA III, DPA

Chairperson

Commission on Higher Education (CHED)

Dear Mr. De Vera III,

Warmest greetings from the genuine representation of students! 

Ayokong Magmahal FEU Network is an alliance of student organizations and movements and student leaders aiming to unite for the advancement of students’ interests and welfare and the defense of our constitutionally-guaranteed right to education.  As a democratic alliance of students, Ayokong Magmahal FEU Network has been at the forefront of campaigns against repressive and inhumane campus policies that perpetuate the ills in the profit-driven and crisis-laden educational system. 

Due to the prolonged lockdown as imposed by President Rodrigo Duterte dated April 7, 2020, we forward to you our position paper consisting of the possible measures and actions to be done and/or considered by the Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs), including the Far Eastern University (FEU), for an accurate response to the emerging needs of students and their families during this socio-economic crisis. 

The lack of substantial directives of your office to HEIs, which should encompass and heed the legitimate and just demands of students, results into confusions, hence, forcing school administrators to impose their own discretion as to the formulation and enforcement of necessary interventions in academic activities and the academic calendar per se.

The arguments and stances provided in this position paper are anchored and premised on the survey initiated by FEU- Central Student Organization (FEUCSO) participated by a total of  10,370 students which has been sent to the University President Office, under the watch of Univ. Pres. Dr. Michael Alba, with a letter of appeal containing different recommendations on how this semester shall be dealt with accordingly and explaining the current social conditions of the students whose conditions have been heavily affected by the crises brought about by COVID-19.

Based on the survey, 9806 of respondents demand the suspension of all academic  activities during the pandemic; 7,020 respondents experience anxiety and mental health issues brought about by the worsening socio-economic crisis and the ongoing ECQ; 6,704 experience unstable internet connection, while some are just relying on mobile data or non-monthly load subscription for internet access; and 5,055 respondents are living in homes not conducive for learning.

On a different note, 7,568 students still had to undergo online classes and submissions of requirements from March 21 to April 14, 2020, the period when CHED imposed a moratorium on all classes, both physical and online

But behind these numbers are the much poorer conditions and more complicated situations being faced by the student and their families. The liminality within the margins of the conducted survey reeks of more important and pressing concerns that have to be considered by HEIs, including FEU, in these precarious times. 

Based on the public health study conducted by Christian Nicomedes and Ronn Mikhael Avila entitled, “An Analysis on the Panic of Filipinos During COVID-19 Pandemic in the Philippines” (2020), Filipinos experience heightened psychological distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the socio-economic crisis it triggered. Among the worsened psychological distresses experienced by Filipinos in light of the pandemic are anxiety, panic attacks, nihilism, and paranoia. And a surge in mental health conditions is expected as the country braces for more unprecedented quarantine, isolation, and uncertainty (Reyco, 2020) amid the government's “sluggish approach to mental health” and inability to improve healthcare facilities and support mental health workers (Arias, 2020) due to privatized and commercialized healthcare.

On the one hand, no matter how FEU asserts that the students must face “a new normal” due to the COVID-19 pandemic, its preparedness and responses to the academic community’s uncertainties and needs tell otherwise. It is furthermore useless and flawed when the supposed attendees of online classes, the students and the facilitators (professors), are not as equally prepared. On the other hand, the fact that the whole academic community, including the students and professors, is constantly battling psychological, financial, and logistical hurdles brought about by this pandemic speaks of the just and humane thing that needs to be done: mass promotion.

We stand firm that learning should not be at the expense of the students’ health and safety. In these trying times, we expect the CHED, as the state’s educational institution governing HEIs, to be at the forefront of advancing the legitimate and just demands of Filipino students, especially the most affected by the socio-economic turmoil caused by the pandemic and other social happenings hitting the country left and right. 

We demand your office to look into and peruse the systemic poverty and hardships faced by the Filipino youth and their parents.  

We hope that your office will take into consideration the struggles faced by students, especially those who have been stranded in Metro Manila due to the state-imposed lockdown. The unstable internet connection or the lack thereof (Valles, 2020), mental health and psychological problems and anxieties brought about by the global health emergency and its casualties in our midst (Razza, 2020), the lack of economic means to cope with academic requirements which primarily hits the disadvantaged majority (San Juan, 2020), the worsening socio-economic depression faced by Filipino families (Nicomedes, et. al, 2020), among other problems, are compelling enough to: 

1. End the semester now and implement mass promotion of students;

2. Stop the collection of school fees and the impending Tuition and Other School Fees Increase (TOFSI);

3. Sustain teaching and non-teaching staff salaries; and

4.  Preserve genuine student representation and uphold the students’ democratic rights

Ayokong Magmahal FEU Network would also like to propose the waiving of the numerical grading system for this semester wherein students shall receive a passing (P) mark instead of letter grades. 

We humbly request your esteemed office to heed the demands of  Filipino students and provide as well the necessary actions to address and ease the struggles of the poor and marginalized Filipino families being the most vulnerable amid the pandemic. 

Whatever CHED’s response will be, it shall be remembered in the annals of history.

In service of the students and the Filipino people,

Mark Roland Santos, Main Convenor, Ayokong Magmahal FEU Network 

Jamil Al-Leoncio Luces-Macabanding, Co-Convenor, Ayokong Magmahal FEU Network

Jake Jefferson Abuso, Co-Convenor, Ayokong Magmahal FEU Network

Airam Tanparia, Co-Convenor, Ayokong Magmahal FEU Network

Jilliance Eunice Gonzales, Representative, Anakbayan- FEU, Member Organization

Steven Tombo, Representative, Kabataan Partylist- FEU, Member Organization

Bea Talusan, Representative, Gabriela Youth- FEU, Member Organization

Lance Christopher Bisda, Representative, Sabak Artists Collective- PIYU, Member Organization 

REFERENCES

Nicomedes, Christian Jasper & Avila, Ronn. (2020). An Analysis on the Panic of Filipinos During COVID-19 Pandemic in the Philippines. 10.13140/RG.2.2.17355.545 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340081049_An_Analysis_on_the_Panic_of_Filipinos_During_COVID-19_Pandemic_in_the_Philippines/citation/download

Oliver. H. (2020, April 6). Can PH cope? Mental illness cases tipped to surge during pandemic. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/nation/257094-can-ph-cope-mental-illness-cases-tipped-surge-coronavirus-pandemic

Raza, A (2020, March 23). COVID-19 distress: Managing your mental health in a pandemic | COVID | Mental Health | UT Southwestern Medical Center. Retrieved from https://utswmed.org/medblog/covid-19-distress-managing-your-mental-health-pandemic/

San Juan, R. (2020, April 10). Students urged termination of current semester, suspension of online classes. Retrieved from https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/04/10/2006588/students-urge-termination-current-semester-suspension-online-classes

Valles, I. (2020, March 20). Here’s why your internet has been unusually slow lately. Retrieved from https://www.msn.com/en-ph/health/medical/heres-why-your-internet-has-been-unusually-slow-lately/ar-BB11roq8?li=BBr8zL6