The College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) strongly condemns the Cagayan State University (CSU) administration for its blatant censorship and intimidation of student publications for covering the mobilization on the 53rd anniversary of Martial Law in Tuguegarao City on September 21.

University officials from various campuses forced publications such as The CSU Promethean of CSU-Carig Campus, Likha Pahinarya, and The CSU Communicator of CSU-Andrews to delete their articles about the protest against corruption at Rizal Park in Tuguegarao City.

Officials declared The CSU Promethean article “unauthorized” and threatened to punish its editorial board. They also pressured the students to “apologize” for the article.

The Facebook page of Likha Pahinarya was instantly deleted after releasing the article, but it was later restored. The editorial board was also denied access to their FB page.

The harassment reportedly intensified when the publications posted photos of protesters carrying placards mentioning the name “Lara” in relation to the failed flood control project in the region. The calls on the placards included: “People’s money not Pang-LARAwan” (public funds not photo-ops) and “kaEPALan, wag tuLARAn” (grandstanding, don’t emulate). These referred to Congress’ Cagayan third district representative Joseph Lara, who is a major sponsor of university buildings.

The university president, however, denied involvement and issued a statement on September 23 claiming they did not impose any punishment or suppressed the free expression of students or publications.

“Authorities have no right to dictate or restrict the function of publications. We remind government officials that student publications and their communities owe them nothing; rather, it is the politicians who must uphold and respect legitimate criticisms and concerns from the people. Any attempt to silence dissent only exposes the ongoing injustices perpetuated by those in power,” CEGP explained.

The Student Regent Office also expressed support and condemned the harassment of publications. According to the office, publications are not created to serve those in authority but to safeguard truth, accountability, and transparency. Forcing these publications to “apologize” for their statements goes against the fundamental principles of democracy and critical thinking that the university must uphold.

The Cagayan Provincial Information Office-TeleRadyo likewise declared support for the students’ fight. It urged all media outlets and journalists in the region to show solidarity and support for the struggle for press freedom. They said that defending press freedom in schools and universities also means defending the Filipino people’s free speech.

“We challenge the Commission on Higher Education and the school administrators to actively protect their students and extend full support to the targetted or threatened student journalists,” said CEGP.