In line with this, he called for an investigation on March 2009 to determine if the event violates the said law. He sought "to sanction the parties responsible, including the university authorities, for failure to exercise their bounden duty to see it that the laws and rules of this country prevail." The Oblation Run was defended by Senator Francis Pangilinan, a former UP Student Council president. He argued that the run is not obscene because the runners were merely exercising their freedom of expression.