University of the Philippines College of Engineering Dean Rizalinda De Leon issued a statement today and posted on the UPD College of Engineering Facebook page to “clarify” the statement published by militant organisation UPRISE. In this statement, De Leon essentially retracts her supposed call to “Engineer the Downfall of the Tyrant and Dictator Duterte!”.
While I believe that the engineering community must take upon itself the challenge to defend human rights and civil liberties, and that we ought to speak out against any system of tyranny and dictatorship whether current or future, I do not and will not instigate the downfall of any person or leader, including Pres. Duterte.
The original statement was brought to the public attention by Twitter user Euler Rules on the 15th September.
This serves as a hard lesson to a high-profile official of the State University. Getting involved with with so-called “activists” who espouse dubious but nonetheless militant agendas can only lead to big trouble.
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