Youth leaders and student journalists condemned the University of Mindanao’s (UM) restraint and censorship against its student publication PRIMUM for allegedly pressuring its Editorial Board to either remain apolitical or step down from their positions.
Numerous student publications have expressed their support and solidarity with PRIMUM after its Editorial Board stepped down due to alleged repression by UM’s administration after the publication posted an article entitled “Ang Alegorya ng Mananakbo,” depicting the irony of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s misogynistic comments in 2021 after his daughter Vice President Sarah Duterte announced her 2028 presidential bid.
National Union of Students in the Philippines – Davao Representative Elijah Peter Velasco described the UM administration’s actions as attempts to silence and censor students’ voices, reducing campus journalism into a mere public relations tool.
“Ang PRIMUM gipatagbaw sa ilang tahas nga pagbalita, gipadayag, gikritikal, ug mi-barog sa kamatuoran. Apan unsa man gibuhat sa administrasyon ug sa mga namumuno ilang gipugngan ug giipit ang atong mga kauban pinaagi sa pagkuha sa kontrol sa ilahang social media page.”
After expressing solidarity with the publication through an official statement, College Editor Guild of the Philippines – Davao (CEGP) Vice Chairperson and Atenews Editor-in-Chief Elliot Dimasuhid reiterated the media’s role in enabling people to exercise democracy and in promoting discourse that sparks social change.
“Pangunahing tungkulin ng midya ang magmulat ng tao sa tunay na kalagayan ng lipunan ng kanyang ginagalawan. Layunin ng midya na malayang makabuo ang mga Pilipino ng opinyon ayon sa katotohanan upang makapagpasiya at sa kalaunan makatulong sa pagtataguyod ng pagbabago,” he stated.
UMians for Good Governance Representative Irish Cag-ong underscored the importance of student publications being critical and political, acting as watchdogs not just within the confines of the school gates but also in the communities they reside in.
“Isa lamang itong manipestasyon ng pang-gigipit at pang-busal ng administrasyon ng unibersidad upang mapanatiling apolitikal nito. Bakit nga ba konektado ang politika at pamamahayag? Hindi ba’t sinusulat nito ang tunay na kalagayan ng lipunan?”
GABRIELA Youth – Davao Chairperson Allyssa Ancheta stressed that student publications are needed now more than ever, as rising student concerns continue to prevail, such as the Tuition and Other School Fees Increase (TOSFI).
“Sa tunga sa mga isyu sa nagtaas nga tuition [ug] kakulangan sa basic student services, anaa ang mga campus publication para mahimong number one tig-siwalat sa mga kakulangan sa administrasyon.”
She drew comparisons between the intersectional oppression that women student activists face and the campus press’s struggle for autonomy and their intertwined efforts to reclaim political spaces through active resistance.
“Dugay na nga struggle sa mga kabatan-onang kababainhan ang pugos na pakigbisog para sa ilang space sa atong katilingban; dili ni siya layo sa mga nasinati sa atong mga publications, ” Ancheta added.
Despite the existing legislative safeguards against administrative encroachment on student publications embodied in the Campus Journalism Act of 1991, Dimasuhid maintained that the law remains ‘toothless and spineless.’
“Walang pangil ang CJA dahil hindi ito nagbibigay ng mekanismo upang matiyak ang pagpopondo, walang sapat na proteksyon, at walang parusa para sa mga paglabag, na nag-iiwan sa mga may kasalanan na hindi mananagot,” he said.
He then urged the passage of the Campus Press Freedom Bill or House Bill No. 4172 in Congress, which aims to bolster legal protections against campus press violations and fill gaps left unaddressed by the previous legislature.
The picket rally and candlelighting in solidarity with Primum and other student publications came about at Freedom Park in Roxas Avenue, Davao City, on March 20, 2026.