‘We are defending a sanctuary of learning and of life’
“We will defend the University of the Philippines, our sanctuary, as much as it has defended us,” Lalah, a Grade 12 Lumad student, vowed to a crowd of protesters during a mobilisation at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman.
Members of the UP community assembled on 19 January at the steps of the historic Quezon Hall to condemn the unilateral abrogation of the 1989 University of the Philippines-Department of National Defense (UP-DND) Accord, the morning after Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana announced the questionable decision.
The accord lays down the guidelines on military and police entry to all UP campuses. This limits the power of state authorities to interfere with university operations, effectively protecting the freedom of faculty to determine what to teach and how it should be taught, and the freedom of students to think critically without danger. The accord, in other words, asserts UP
SunStar
+ January 25, 2021 UNIVERSITY of the Philippines (UP) alumnus and former Philhealth president and chief executive officer Alexander Padilla on Monday, January 25, 2021, accepted the apology of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) over its erroneous list of UP students who have joined the New People’s Army (NPA).
But Padilla, whose name was erroneously included in the list, said he and other UP alumni on the list were still considering charges against the military personnel responsible for the list and its posting online. Pag-aaralan pa namin ng mga kasamahan ko dahil nga gusto namin maging leksiyon sana ito, he said in a radio interview.
A former University of the Philippines-Diliman student council chairperson who is now based in Australia has expressed his disappointment over the Department of National Defense's unilateral trashing of an agreement with the premier learning institution.
RJ Nieto
In a nutshell, the 1981 Soto-Enrile Accord is a document where then Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile promised UP student activist Sonya Sotto that the military and police would not enter the University of the Philippines without advance notice to senior UP officials. The 1989 UP-DND Agreement is basically a reiteration of the 1981 accord.
The present controversy stems from government’s decision to cancel the agreement, with the Palace argueing that the conditions set in the documents unnecessarily encumber the government. The UP community disagreed and said the agreement is indispensable in ensuring academic freedom.
With these said, let me ask a few questions.
SunStar
+ January 21, 2021 SOLDIERS aboard military trucks entered the University of the Philippines Diliman campus on Wednesday, January 20, 2021, not as a show of force following the abrogation of the 1989 UP-Department of National Defense (DND) accord but to visit their ongoing projects.
“Nandito po tayo ngayon dahil gusto po nating ipakita na mali yung mga sinasabi at sa mga speculation na bawal talaga ‘yung military dito sa Barangay UP Campus,” said Major Frank Sayson, 7th Civil Relations Group of the Civil Relations Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (7CRG, CRSAFP) commander.
“Ang sabi nga namin, itong ginagawa natin sa nation building, nagre-reach out ang AFP sa iba’t ibang sector especially sa pamunuan ng UP,” he added.