Cavite State University (CvSU) students militantly asserted their right to protest within the campus despite repression by the school administration. Student groups successfully marched through the main campus in Indang, Cavite on March 27 during the Malayang Diwa Festival commemorating CvSU’s 119th anniversary.

Guards closed the gates and blocked the students before their march reached the campus. According to CvSU-Kilos Na, the protest aimed to expose issues students, instructors, and residents face within and outside university, but the administration suppressed it.

Determined to hold their program inside CvSU, the students pushed and forced open the gate allowing them entry. They continued their program at the student bazaar on the Softball Field.

“The Malayang Diwa Festival symbolizes freedom for every citizen. True liberation lies in freeing the class from the chains of exploitation,” declared Anakbayan-CvSU.

Meanwhile, the group condemned the Cavite-PNP for its intervention in the university during the protest. The group recorded police harassment against a student, causing severe fear.

“No armed branch of the government has any right to enter our university,” according to the group. They stated that this is part of upholding academic freedom and other fundamental rights of students.

The group said they would continue their actions and organizing efforts to reach more students and discuss various social issues with them. They added that only through advancing national democracy can people achieve the genuine freedom the nation seeks.