WHAT WAS supposed to be a routine posting of a cartoon illustration to mark National Press Freedom Day on Aug. 30 is turning out to be another TomasinoWeb controversy in the making.
La Stampa received instructions to revise the material from one illustrating the lack of press freedom to a new one carrying a theme about artificial intelligence and fake news, the editor in chief of the official student publication of UST Senior High School told the Varsitarian.
The irony was not lost on the La Stampa editors.
“The [material] was raised to our group chat with our publication advisers, and revisions were put to the table: revisions that would eradicate the whole point of the layout being an avenue of awareness. They raised the issue of AI and the spread of fake news,” La Stampa editor in chief Laurice Escuin said.
The Varsitarian sought comment from the SHS administration and publication advisers but did not receive a response as of posting time.
At the center of the cartoon-style illustration is a student journalist in uniform, visibly distressed, struggling to hold a camera and a pen over an open notebook. Her body is entangled in white puppet strings, manipulated by a large hand looming above her — a clear metaphor for external control and censorship.
“They said the [publication material] would be misleading because they see the cartoon as ‘a weak individual’ who goes along with the higher-ups. La Stampa explained how we wanted to show journalists’ persistence in their duty; however, they still did not approve,” Escuin said.
La Stampa tried to negotiate by explaining the cartoon’s message and offering to clarify it in the caption, she said.
“An almost three-hour discourse only led them to disapprove the [publication material] by simply not replying,” she said.
Escuin said the publication was restricted to publishing “news,” and even those reports were often toned down to “avoid stirring up noise.”
“Censorship is not new to La Stampa; we have encountered this many times, even before my term as the [editor in chief],” she said.
On Tuesday night, the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) said in a Facebook statement that the rejection of the publication material is a “blatant act of censorship.”
In its post, CEGP demanded an “immediate end to administrative and adviser intervention in the editorial independence of La Stampa,” calling on Thomasians and other campus publications to “resist and stand vigilant against all forms of censorship.”
Escuin said the La Stampa staff stood firm in asserting campus press freedom.
“La Stampa is still gearing up to fight for our independence and duty to the SHS student body. We are thriving to spread awareness to everyone amid censorship,” she said.
In February 2024, online student media organization TomasinoWeb was ordered by University authorities to take down a photo of students going into a 7-Eleven store on campus, as the similarity between the uniforms of the students and store crew supposedly caused public ridicule.
The censorship controversy, which led to TomasinoWeb halting operations briefly due the resignation of its adviser, caught national attention and nearly led to a congressional inquiry.
After alumni and public outcry, UST replaced the director of the Office for Student Affairs.
