Presidents and senior officials from Lasallian educational institutions nationwide have raised grave concerns over recent controversies rocking the Senate, asserting that the incidents have severely eroded the chamber’s credibility and undermined its commitment to justice.
In a scathing joint statement released Thursday, the academic leaders criticized lawmakers for allegedly shielding a colleague facing crimes against humanity charges, while also panning the upper house for its weak response to the violent May 13 shootout involving the Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
“Senators have done so little to restore the confidence of the Filipino people. Instead, they have only deepened the perception that the institution is more concerned with shielding the powerful rather than upholding the rule of law,” the educators stated.
The political standoff erupted when Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano placed Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa under protective custody inside the Senate complex for three days, effectively blocking NBI agents from serving an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant on May 11.
The Lasallian leaders emphasized that restoring the Senate’s battered dignity demands transparency, ethical governance, and a swift halt to political games.
“Restoring faith in the Senate and upholding its dignity require moving beyond political spectacle, abandoning attempts to manipulate the rules of the institution to suit political interests, and confronting the violence committed within its halls with the seriousness and transparency it demands,” the statement read.
Addressing public officials who graduated from their institutions—notably Cayetano, an alumnus of De La Salle Santiago Zobel School, and Senator JV Ejercito, a graduate of De La Salle University Manila—the educators urged them to renounce the abuse of power.
“Leadership is not merely about legal survival; it is also about moral credibility and the preservation of public trust,” they added.
The manifesto was signed by 10 presidents and top executives representing 17 Lasallian schools across the Philippines, including De La Salle University, La Salle Green Hills, and De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.