Finally, Republic Act 11984, No permit, No Exam, Prohibition Act“ was enacted in the Philippines this year – an act mandating public and private educational institutions to allow disadvantaged students with unpaid tuition and other school fees to take periodic and final examinations. (Source: IG account of Senator Escudero)

This is not just an act, a law, but this is more than that. It gives dignity to all less fortunate students in the Philippines.

I witnessed this social injustice and cruelty when I was in high school. I went to a private Catholic school. I saw students lining up in front of the treasury office begging and crying for being allowed to take their examinations. The scenes reoccurred from exams to exams. I also grew up in poverty and I knew the shameful feeling of begging for something. Although my parents were both teachers, it did not save me from the hands of poverty. Deep inside, I felt the urge of doing something against the system. I could not ignore that I had to give the poor a VOICE for JUSTICE. It should also be highly noted that these years were the era of President Ferdinand Marcos. 

During my last year in high school, 4th year, my classmate Marlon and I organized and led a demonstration against the administration of my school. We had many demands but the main demand was to give dignity to the poor students by allowing them to take their examinations with unpaid tuition fees. Although this is a nationwide issue, addressing it to the school administration was only aiming to get the ball rolling.