T.S.E.K.!

Press Release
June 22, 2009

Youth leads Mindanao-wide protest against Con-Ass, Cha-Cha

Davao City–Convenor organizations of Leksyon announces over the press conference today that all are set for June 23´s Mindanao Day of Youth Action for Trabaho, Serbisyo-Sosyal, Edukasyon ug Katungod (TSEK) and against Charter Change or the ¨TSEK! DILI CHA-CHA!¨

The press conference is held at the Roof top of the Barangay Hall of Brgy. 7 A.M., Mt. Apo Street 10 o´clock in the morning.

¨Everything is set for the big protest on the Mindanao Day of Youth Action tomorrow to show the full unity of the youth in calling for Trabaho, Serbisyo-Sosyal, Edukasyon ug Katungod and opposing the desperate move of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to push for Chacha,”, said Myrna Imperial, LEKSYON Chairperson.

¨LEKSYON affiliates and support organizations in other regions including Youth Act Now! (YAN), Kilos Kabataan, College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) are already geared for tomorrow’s big condemnation day against Chacha¨, added Imperial.

LEKSYON sited Ibon Foundation recent statement that “the United States (US) government and US corporations have been at the forefront of repeated efforts to remove nationalist and other progressive economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution, now more so with the US economy under recession.”

IBON Foundation, Inc. is an independent development institution established in 1978 that provides research, education, publications, information work and advocacy support on socioeconomic issues.

“Changing the Charter’s economic provisions to further open the country to foreign investment and capital will further weaken the Philippine economy. According to Ibon it will worsen joblessness, undermine long-term growth, and strip the country of our natural resources as foreign corporations and local counterparts continue plundering the country’s mineral, forestry and marine resources. Opening up land to foreign ownership will drive land prices up and displace our small peasant farmers. Land inequities, land monopolies and rural unemployment will worsen,” Imperial said.

Different youth expressed their sentiments regarding education and how the current regime neglects this.

¨Cha-cha is, indeed, condemnable as it would affect not only our economy but most importantly, the future of the youth pertaining to our education. Education is getting more expensive. Our school increased its tuition neglecting the financial crisis that burdens our family currently despite its being Jesuit. How much more if Chacha be implemented which would pave the way for a more commercialized education,” said Bulldog Lagon of the League of Filipino Students in Ateneo de Davao University.

¨The government is not concerned with the education demanded by the youth. It is manifested in the continuous slash in national budget appropriation to state colleges.¨ said Donna Grasya Dayanan, president of the student council in the University of Southern Philippines (USEP-Obrero).

¨Those who have enrolled themselves to school this semester are lucky. It gets harder for us who are out-of-school-youth. We have no choice but to work for us to survive.¨, Edileto Sironon said, Kahugpungan sa Kabatan-onang Kabus sa Dabaw (KABAKA).

The group calls all the youth to come together in protesting against anti-people and anti-youth actions made by the government.

¨The youth’s future is in grave danger. The youth calls for a genuine Trabaho, Serbisyo-Sosyal, Edukasyon ug Katungod. Yet, the Arroyo government answers us with Charter Change. To show our condemnation against the desperate regime of Arroyo, we are inviting different organizations, especially the youth, to join us in our big mobilization which would assemble at the Freedom Park tomorrow, 1 o´clock in the afternoon. March rally follows after which would end at Rizal Park with a program and a short concert later. Youth unite! Oppose Chacha!, said Sheena Duazo, Anakbayan Spokesperson.