Dulaang UP artistic director stages hunger strike after UP termination notice

De Guzman said his protest is not partisan but rooted in what he described as a profound sense of civic grief over the loss of decency and fairness within the institution.

Dispute over DUP production

The conflict reportedly dates back to March 2025, during the production of DUP’s 47th season offering, “Mga Anak ng Unos.” According to De Guzman, student complaints about the production process were allegedly weaponized by faculty members to politically undermine and eventually remove former DUP artistic director Issa Manalo Lopez and managing director Tess Jamias.

De Guzman claimed that while he and others attempted to address the concerns through dialogue, students were pressured into escalating their grievances. He also alleged repeated breaches of ethics, including student harassment and violations of academic freedom, which he said went unaddressed for nearly two years.

After assuming the artistic director position and pushing for greater transparency in faculty-student discussions, De Guzman said he became the administration’s next target. He claimed he was denied due process in connection with what he described as fabricated retaliatory complaints, culminating in the issuance of his termination notice on October 30.

Questions over committee

The department recently announced the formation of an ad hoc committee on November 9 to review reports from the dialogues and address the outstanding concerns. De Guzman, however, dismissed the move as performative.

He argued that the reports had been available for more than a year and questioned why another committee was necessary. He also described the initiative as a delaying tactic that could exhaust the faculty members, students, and others seeking accountability.

In response to what he considers the institution’s failure to address the dispute, De Guzman has outlined several demands.

These include the immediate resignation of the current departmental leadership before the end of the fall semester and disciplinary sanctions against faculty members he accuses of orchestrating the ousters.

Among the proposed sanctions are the permanent suspension of their voting rights and disqualification from holding administrative positions.

He is also demanding justice for Lopez, Jamias, and the students who, he alleges, were manipulated and harassed during the institutional dispute.

Art as form of resistance

As he begins his hunger strike, De Guzman plans to spend his days reciting poetry of resistance and expressing gratitude to the people who helped shape his journey as an artist and scholar.

Having returned to the Philippines two years ago after spending 16 years abroad, he credited the novels of Jose Rizal with keeping him grounded during some of his darkest moments overseas.

Drawing parallels between his present struggle and the social ills tackled in Rizal’s works, De Guzman reminded his students that art, justice, and life are inseparable.

De Guzman’s last production with DUP was its 48th season closer, “Ang Kaliitan ng Kasalukuyan.” Meanwhile, the company’s 49th season opener, “Fiestas y Muertos,” continues its run until November 15.

As of publication, neither Dulaang UP nor the UP Diliman Department of Speech Communication and Theatre Arts (DSCTA) had issued a public statement addressing De Guzman’s allegations and hunger strike.