“By all accounts, 1969 was the year in which protesting in the style of the civil rights movement in the United States—peaceful, nonviolent, reformist—gave way to more militant protests and bluntly revolutionary aspirations among the youth, along with the flag hoisted with the red field up.”

“In this regard, the flagship of Philippine (secular) universities, the U.P. at Diliman in Quezon City, not only emerged as the first such enclave for a new radical politics of the early mid- 1960s, but also as the premier site for the realisation of a (sub)urban campus as revolutionary space with the declaration of the ‘Diliman Commune’ in 1971.”

“Universities were closed until the end of 1972 and were re-opened under tight military surveillance. As the arrests in the schools continued, those advocating a rethinking of organizational strategy to ensure the long-term rebuilding of the radical student movement slowly prevailed. In UP, there was a noticeable shift in student engagement with university and state authorities away from the “silent marches” to more deliberate and careful staging of petitions, “calls,” and appeals for “students’ rights and welfare.” Activists also began forming or reviving “traditional” student associations like academic clubs and fraternities that became strong advocates for the full restoration of official student councils, the loosening of restrictions on the Collegian, and the right of students to free expression.”

“In 1979, almost a hundred organizations and student leaders formed the Task Force Ibalik ang Sanggunian. By August, they transformed it to Student Alliance. At the end of the year, the UP administration announced the restoration of the University Student Council after seven years of forced inactivity. The USC gained prominence as an institution, which tirelessly espoused peoples’ concerns. On August 26, 1983, three thousand members of the UP community, including the USC, joined the peace march and prayer rally in protest over the murder of Senator Ninoy Aquino and the continuing violation of human rights. On July 6, 1984, UP students were the first to march again at Mendiola since 1972. Students were protesting the tuition fee increases in private schools, the low budget for education, IMF-WB meddling in government, oil price hikes, and disregard for students’ democratic rights. On February 17, 1986, students and faculty met at the AS steps to discuss and plan a localized civil disobedience, and a new kind of education following the rigged snap polls. USC formed the Task Force Civil Disobedience. Three days later, UP students marched to Malacañang demanding that President Marcos immediately vacate the Palace.”