Galit ng mga kabataan at estudyante sa lumalalang krisis sa edukasyon sa ilalim ni Noynoy inihambing kay Simon sa nobelang El Filibusterismo

Rizal to do ‘a Simon’ if he was alive today under Noynoy – Anakbayan
On June 16, 2011

As the nation prepares to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of National Hero Jose Rizal, a national youth group believes he would have been driven to follow one of the main characters in one of his most important novels, the El Filibusterismo.

“If he was alive today, Rizal would most likely be pushed into emulating ‘Simon’ due to the disgusting lack of social change under the current administration” said Vencer Crisostomo, national chairperson of the youth group Anakbayan.

The character Simon, formerly known as the young reformist named Crisostomo Ibarra, seeked to overthrow the ruling classes of Rizal’s time after his previous ‘peaceful’ plans were frustrated.

“With the deregulated and commercialized tertiary education system under Noynoy, Rizal wouldn’t even have been able to finish his studies in the Ateneo and the UST” said Crisostomo.

The tuition and other fees in the Ateneo De Manila and University of Sto. Tomas, the two schools in which the national hero studied, are among the most expensive in the country at around P40 thousand and P60 thousand, respectively. They are also among the 281 universities nationwide which hiked their tuition rates this year.

In addition, the youth leader noted that Rizal would have empathized with the hundreds of thousands of urban and rural poor who are being evicted from their homes under Noynoy’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) program.

Based on the government’s own research, an estimated half-million families all over Metro Manila are targeted by four waves of demolitions. Many will make way for PPP projects such as the Central Business District and National Government Center in Quezon City, privatization of Intramuros and the North Harbor in Manila, the privatization of the Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa, and the construction of the Laguna Lake Dike.

In rural areas, tens of thousands of farmers and indigenous peoples are being ejected to make way for projects such as a 30 thousand hectare biofuel plantation in Isabela, a Lopez Family-owned plantation in Nueva Ecija, and the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone in Aurora. The planned expansion of the MRT train line into Bulacan is also the alleged reason behind attempts by the Araneta family (related to DOTC Secretary Mar Roxas) to eject farmers in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.