In a statement, University President Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin said the executive director of AdMU’s art hub resigned after the backlash caused by her personal invite to Irene Marcos-Araneta.
“In the spirit of transparency, Ms Yael Buencamino has voluntarily offered to resign as Executive Director of Arete. I have accepted her resignation as Executive Director, even as I acknowledge with gratitude her exemplary performance in shepherding Arete during this nascent stage of its development,” Villarin said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 12) — An Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) official resigned over the controversial invite of a daughter of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos to the university’s art event.
Ateneo President Fr. Villarin apologizes for the presence of Irene Marcos-Araneta at the opening of Areté hub's outdoor art installation program; Areté executive director voluntarily resigns | via @ateneodemanilau pic.twitter.com/KFMrPnwG5Q
— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) April 12, 2019
Marcos’ appearance to the opening of Arete’s Outdoor Art Installation program was faced with backlash from university students.
In a statement, the AdMU student body condemned the presence of Marcos, and claimed that the move was a grave insult to the survivors of the martial law regime.
“It is a grave insult and vehement mockery to Martial Law survivors and martyrs that Marcos was present in the same space that staged Dekada ‘70, a polemical discourse against the fascist-authoritarian regime of Martial Law; and Desaparecidos, a play that showcased the struggles and abuses endured by Filipinos during Martial Law and the trauma it left upon the people,” the student body said.
The Marcoses wish that the Filipino People move on. To that we say, never—not until Filipino patriots walk the halls of our universities, not until student activists continue to fight, not until justice has been delivered. The Ateneo & her children will never forget.#OurSanggu pic.twitter.com/8qESotie2r
— ADMU Sanggunian (@ADMUSanggu) April 8, 2019
Villarin said that it was not the case, and that the backlash was an unintended consequence.
“The unintended consequences of this incident do not mean that the University has turned a blind eye to the atrocities committed during the Martial Law regime. If anything, they have strengthened the University’s unfailing commitment to help seek justice for the victims of the regime, to counter historical revisionism and to educate the Ateneo community regarding the regime’s pernicious effects on Philippine society,” he said.
