De La Salle University (DLSU)-Manila students suffered repression from the administration after launching a protest on campus on January 5. The administration cut short a protest action that denounced anomalies in the 2026 national budget, militarization in the countryside, and the university’s expected tuition increase.

According to Lasallians Against Corruption (LAC), the group that led the protest, the Student Discipline Formation Office (SDFO) prevented students from finishing the supposedly short program. LAC tried to negotiate with officials and the administration to continue the program but was forcibly stopped because of the alleged lack of “permit.”

LAC asserted that their protest and expression of political stance did not violate the Student Handbook. The SDFO and administration ignored the students’ explanations and arguments and repeatedly stopped them.

According to the group, the SDFO even forced them to name protest participants and grabbed a student’s ID. The students, especially those in Senior High School, were threatened with punishment for their “major offense” of participating in the protest.

“We would like to categorically state that the mobilization was a manifestation of our self-evident, legal, and democratic rights protected by the Students’ Charter (Section 44), handbook policies (Section 1b of the Declaration of the Zero Tolerance for All Forms of Violence Policy), and the Philippine Constitution,” LAC said. The group added that the handbook contains no provision requiring students to obtain a permit from the SDFO for any form of protest.

LAC added that the SDFO should explain why it stopped the protest and took the names of participants. The group called for a dialog with the SDFO and the creators of the student handbook to clarify students’ rights according to the document.

“Let us not be afraid as they repress us; rather, find strength in our numbers,” LAC urged. The group said that the voices of students and youth are even more crucial now, since Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr signed the ₱6.793-trillion General Appropriations Act or the national budget for 2026 on January 5, which the group described as riddled with anomalies.

Meanwhile, progressive groups on campus expressed solidarity with LAC. Anakbayan Vito Cruz lauded the students’ resoluteness amid repression in expressing their stance against systemic corruption and other local issues.