The Adobo Chronicles obtained this copy of a message from Ateneo de Manila President Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin, addressed to all students and alumni of the university.  It was leaked to us by his Secretary who, we later found out, was a closet Duterte supporter.

As an elitist university, we are committed to exercising our arrogance to defend the violation of the laws of our Motherland, especially if it involves tax evasion and cyber libel, commited under the guise of Press Freedom.

We are alarmed at the filing of charges and warrant of arrest orders against our beloved ally and beacon of truth, Rappler CEO Maria Ressa.

We will never forget how Ms. Ressa always came to the defense of our favorite alumnus son, President NoyNoy Aquino and his Yellow minions.  She has done so without regard for the risks to her freedom, safety and the potential of being a persecuted political prisoner.

The Philippine government has trampled upon her human rights, as confirmed by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

Her nonprofit company, Rappler, is in grave danger of being silenced and shut down for good.  We cannot allow this to happen as it puts the foreign investments in this online news source in danger of being sequestered by the government.

Time Magazine, CNN, The New York Times and others have all but proclaimed Ressa the Mother Theresa and the Aung San Suu Kyi of the Philippines — an honor never before bestowed upon a Filipino (make that Filipino American).

As Ateneans, we cannot simply sit in the sidelines.  We have to make our indignation known not only to the 1% that controls our economy and country, but to the rest of our nation and the world that values the importance of, in Ressa’s words, “holding the line” to keep the profits flowing, and silencing the ordinary citizens that have found a voice through Facebook and the social media.

I therefore ask you to show your support for Ressa by participating in the very first Naked Run, similar to that held yearly by our arch rival, U.P. Diliman.

Come to the Ateneo campus this Saturday to parade in the buff with just a mask bearing the likeness of Maria Ressa.  We can do it.  After all, we are Ateneans.

Yours in solidarity with Rappler,

Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ, President