UP red tape delays launch of Martial Law museum

MANILA, Philippines — The university that gave its “best and brightest" in the struggle against ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. is now facing criticism for its apparent foot-dragging in the creation of a museum to honor the victims of martial law. 

Chuck Crisanto, head of the Human Rights Violations Victims Memorial Commission, asked the House appropriations committee on Tuesday, September 3, to help “nudge” the University of the Philippines (UP) to finally sign the turnover document that will give it control of the funds for the museum. 

UP has been reportedly sitting on the key document for the creation of the Freedom Memorial Museum since June 2023. “If I look at the number of months delayed by UP, it’s now 20 months,” Crisanto told lawmakers. 

What went before. In 2018, the University of the Philippines signed a memorandum of understanding with the commission that allocates 1.4 hectares of land in the Diliman campus for the creation of the museum.

This required UP to relocate its community affairs offices elsewhere, which Crisanto said the university was slow to do in last year’s budget deliberations.

On Tuesday, Crisanto said the commission wrote to the university in June 2023 requesting a handover ceremony to finalize UP’s relocation for the museum. However, it took eight more months for UP’s vice president for legal to finish working on the handover document. 

Crisanto said he met with Jimenez in April, who said the UP side was ready to sign the handover document. But their plan to hold the turnover ceremony on June 12 — Independence Day — did not materialize.

“The first thing UP needs to do is sign the handover or turnover document from the memorial commission to UP. This means they can now fully control the assets that we have provided and infuse from their own budget P50 more million to complete the landscaping of these buildings for the staff of the maintenance office,” Crisanto said in a mix of English and Filipino.

“Without them signing that handover or turnover document, UP cannot allocate money to finish the relocation,” he added.

Stonewalling. Puzzled by the delay, Rep. Arlene Brosas (Gabriela Women’s Party) described UP’s actions as akin to