Leyte Normal University slammed for ‘repressive’ policies vs campus paper

CEBU, Philippines – Student journalists and former members of An Lantawan, the campus publication of the Leyte Normal University (LNU), on Tuesday, October 24, called out the LNU administration for its “repressive” policies against the campus paper, including forcing its members to undergo an accreditation process.

“We are skeptical of the timing of these sudden impositions, given that in the past year alone, there has been increased scrutiny of the publication and its editorial board,” they said in their statement.

Alumni of the An Lantawan, student publication of the Leyte Normal University, released a statement on Tuesday, October 24, after the publication rebranded itself under orders from the university admin.

The alumni called out the admin for its repressive policies. @rapplerdotcom pic.twitter.com/lli86z28vd

— John Sitchon (@TheJohnSitchon) October 24, 2023

On April 10, 2022, An Lantawan posted photos of the aftermath of a political rally outside the LNU grounds, along Paterno Street and Ninoy Aquino Avenue. Piles of garbage were seen in the photos. 

The post received multiple negative comments from people who attended the rally. According to former An Lantawan editor in chief Gio Costuna, the staff were scolded by university officials for allegedly putting the university in “a bad light” and meddling with political affairs.

In June, LNU student council president Shila Cipres, then running for council president, filed a cyber libel complaint against Costuna for an article which questioned the eligibility of candidates running for student council.

At the time, many of the candidates still held positions and did not resign prior to the filing of their candidacies.

While the complaint was dismissed by the Office of the City Prosecutor on June 16, Costuna, together with other editorial board members, were summarily removed from their positions on July 28.

An incumbent member of the An Lantawan editorial board, who requested anonymity, told Rappler in an interview on Monday, October 23, that they also received complaints from Dr. Cleofe Lajara, former Vice President for Student Development and Student Affairs, after the university organ posted the political opinions of candidates during their student council elections.

The post went viral on May 22, with many netizens pointing out that a majority of the candidates opposed student activism in their university.

“[Lajara] was very mad about it, asking why we were posting something that would tarnish the reputation of the university,” the member said.

The campus paper alumni also said that “An Lantawan was told to refrain from posting op-ed articles critical to the current political landscape.”

Other student publications like UP Vista, The Pillar, and Amaranth, as well as the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) of Eastern Visayas, have posted statements of solidarity with An Lantawan.

“Hindi tama ang ganitong taktika na ipasailalim sa kontrol ng administrayon ang naturang publikasyon dahil sila ay isang independenteng institusyon na may editorial autonomy,” said CEGP Eastern Visayas.

(This tactic of putting a publication under an administration’s control is not right because it is an independent institution with its own editorial autonomy.)

“We call on the Leyte Normal University Administration to keep its hands off An Lantawan,” UP Vista said.

Sudden accreditation process

Reporters and members of the An Lantawan editorial board told Rappler on Monday, October 23, that it was the first time for the student publication to be required to undergo an accreditation process since it was founded in the 1970s.

According to the LNU Student Manual, the school publication should operate within the framework of the working policies of An Lantawan. 

An Lantawan alumni pointed out in their statement that requiring accreditation not only contradicts the university’s policy which gives the student publication independence, but also the Campus Journalism Act of 1991.

Under the law, once a publication is established, its editorial board shall have the freedom to determine its own editorial policies and manage the publication’s funds.

In the Philippines, however, many student publications are not given any budget and are threatened with closure by their university administration because of “critical” reports.

Without accreditation, the staff of the student publication said university officials told them that they cannot post news updates using An Lantawan name and logo. This prompted the student publication to rebrand as the LNU-Student Publication Office.

‘Follow or vanish‘

At present, An Lantawan does not have enough editorial board members. In order to fill the vacancies, incumbent staff must conduct an examination.

According to a staff member who requested anonymity, university administrators decided that instead of an examination, applicants must submit a journalistic portfolio consisting of previous articles.

The submissions would then be evaluated by the An Lantawan adviser, the director of Student Activities and Organizations, and vice president for Student Development and Student Affairs.

Generoso Mazo is the vice president for Student Development and Student Affairs.

The staff member told Rappler that Mazo asked the remaining members of the editorial board to craft interim guidelines which would formalize the evaluation and appointment of new members. 

The staff member added that Mazo allegedly said he would send the interim guidelines to the Office of the Solicitor General of the Philippines for “expert reading” on the matter.

“One week ago, we just received information that the OSG received the paper and returned a suggestion…. It was stated there that the student publication would follow the accreditation process of the university,” the staff member said.

Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra confirmed in a text message sent to Rappler on Tuesday night that his office has not received any document related to the interim guidelines.

‘Wings cut off’

When asked, an An Lantawan staff member likened the forced rebranding to “having our wings cut off.”

Costuna, who was a member of An Lantawan for four years, expressed disappointment over the actions of the LNU administration which has affected student journalists.

“This is sending a chilling effect to all campus publications and I’m worried for the members,” Costuna said.

As of this writing, the members are joining the 37th Regional State Colleges and Universities Athletic Association (SCUAA) Games 2023 held at the Visayas State University from October 22 to 27. 

Members said that they are using personal money for their entire coverage. They added that they have also been made to identify only as a “student documentation team” instead of “student journalists” at the event.

“If there is still a tiny amount of shame left to the LNU admin, they will stop censoring and harassing An Lantawan,” Costuna added.

Rappler has tried emailing and calling the offices of Leyte Normal University but to no avail. We will update this article once we receive a statement from the administration. – Rappler.com