Students protest in Morayta vs high tuition

MANILA, Philippines - Militant student groups on Monday afternoon trooped to Morayta near Malacañang to protest the tuition increases in private colleges and universities, GMA's Flash Report said. The television report said that the protest started around 1 p.m. when members of College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) and other youth and student organizations marched toward C.M. Recto avenue from the University of Santo Tomas (UST). However, the group failed to reach Recto which leads to Malacañang when they were blocked by at least 10 Manila policemen. The policemen said the students do not have a permit to stage a rally. Despite this, the policemen allowed the students to hold their protest action in Morayta for 30 minutes. The report said most of the students were from the schools located at the University Belt in Recto. Students from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Sta Mesa, University of the Philippines-Manila and Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City also participated in the protest action. The protesters expressed dismay with the directive of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo stopping tuition fee increases as she did not include private schools. "I am directing the Commission on Higher Education to put off any increase in tuition fees for state universities and colleges this coming school year 2008-2009. I am also directing the CHED to communicate my appeal to private higher education institutions to reconsider and freeze plans to increase tuition fees and other fees this school year," President Arroyo said in a statement last month. - Amita Legaspi, GMANews.TV