The Youth of the Philippines demands Mr. Romulo L. Neri to Speak the Truth

To Mr. Romulo L. Neri
Secretary, Commission on Higher Education (CHED)


Dear Sir:

We hope you had a great birthday on February 1st. You are now 58 years old. What has life life taught you so far? Being an intelligent person renowned in this nation, we believe that you are a man of great vision. Graduating a magna cum laude from the University of the Philippines, there's no doubt you carry in you the ideals of "service to our people and of loyalty to the cause of human betterment", which is the basic message of the famed UP icon, The Oblation, standing for many years as "the visible and tangible embodiment of purity of purpose and unhidden motives."

There is also no doubt that in your 58 years, you have seen "so much". We are but young people who have awakened to this predicament of our nation without any choice and you would certainly know better than we do. This is what we just know--that we live in a nation that has so many times thought it had achieved freedom but in truth, still is chained by poverty, political circus, greed of people in power, extreme corruption, tremendous moral degradation, and utter hopelessness. Our beloved Philippines, the only Christian nation in Asia, a country blessed with so much unappreciated (and abused) natural resources and skilled people making marks wherever they set foot around the world remains to be the laughing matter of the world as well. And you, a person of high intellect and understanding, being the main man in the Commission of Higher Education and having held the National Economic Development Authority leadership, no doubt knows very well there's nothing funny about what's going on. So do we, simple young Filipinos who have been deprived of waking up to a better, brighter homeland, supposedly enjoying the benefits of the taxes our mothers and fathers and grandparents and great grandparents have paid before us.

We stand in support and in awe of your good friend, Mr. Jun Lozada. He knows very well that he is going against an "extraordinary" group of people. We call them the "bondages" of this nation. These people would do ANYTHING for the sake of money, fame, and power. They control this nation. They have contacts in every formidable areas of our society. They can even get anyone killed too easily. But out of nowhere, here comes a simple man, who used to be inconspicuous and unknown to the Filipino public, bravely coming out with nothing but the truth and prayers in his pockets. He has risked not only his life but even those of his family, relatives, and friends. He is not sure what is to happen after all of these but he has delivered a crucial and awakening message to all Filipinos--that we should once and for all act and stand for the truth for the sake of the next generations. Shall we deprive our children of a better country? As a well-respected man once said, 'One way for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing".

You are 58 years old, Mr. Neri. Old enough to have made too many mistakes in your life but not too old to correct the few most crucial ones. And you hold certain truths that may serve as keys to truly free this nation once and for all. Why are you trying to act so apathetically? Are you forever going to remain in the shadows and live in lies? Are you merely sheltering your own future at the expense of the future of all Filipinos? Do you not believe there is still hope for this nation and that this battle can be won? What profits a man if he gains the whole world but suffers the lost of his soul?

We, the youth of this nation, still believe that change can happen because there are people praying for it. We are one of them.

We know you are a good man, Mr. Neri. Please stop doing NOTHING. Please quit hiding the truth. As The Oblation once withstood even the ravages of the war, we know that we can all triumph through this as a people. PLEASE TELL THE TRUTH.