Students slam scrapping of UP-DND accord

MANILA, Philippines, January 20 ------ University of the Philippines students and activists protested yesterday a government decision to allow security forces to patrol the campuses of the country’s biggest university after authorities accused UP of being a breeding ground for communist rebels. The Department of National Defense (DND) has unilaterally abrogated a 1989 agreement with UP that prohibited the uncoordinated entry of military and police forces inside UP campuses nationwide.

Academics and politicians also condemned the scrapping of the agreement, saying it threatened academic freedom and opened the door to red tagging. In a two-page letter dated Jan. 15, Lorenzana informed UP president Danilo Concepcion yesterday of his decision to terminate the agreement, claiming “ongoing clandestine recruitment” of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CCP) inside UP campuses. Lorenzana alleged that the agreement was being used as a shield to prevent law enforcers from conducting operations against CCP and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA).

“By reason of national security and safety of UP students, this department intends to remedy this situation by terminating or abrogating the existing agreement in order for us to perform our legal mandate of protecting our youth against CPP/NPA recruitment activities,” said Lorenzana. The agreement was signed by then UP president Jose Abueva and then defense secretary, former president Fidel Ramos. The pact required law enforcers to seek prior notification from school officials before conducting operations inside UP campuses, except in cases of hot pursuit and emergency.

The agreement does not contain a provision on how it can be terminated.

Attack on academic freedom

In his letter to the defense secretary, the UP president expressed regret that the agreement was abrogated unilaterally, without prior consultation that would have addressed concerns that the DND raised. “I must express our grave concern over this abrogation, as it is totally unnecessary and unwarranted, and may result in worsening rather than improving relations between our institutions, and detract from our common desire for peace, justice and freedom in our society,” Concepcion said. “May I urge you, therefore, to reconsider and revoke your abrogation, and request further that we meet to discuss your concerns in the shared spirit of peace, justice and the pursuit of excellence,” he urged.

In response to the unilateral junking of the accord, members of the UP community, students, faculty and officials staged an indignation rally at the UP Diliman campus yesterday, calling the abrogation an attack on academic freedom and a threat to UP. UP Diliman chancellor Fidel Nemenzo said the move strikes a dangerous blow to academic freedom because it sends the message that intellectual and cultural inquiry has limits. Nemenzo is the son of former UP president Francisco Nemenzo, the faculty regent who witnessed the signing of agreement on June 30, 1989.

“The unilateral abrogation denied UP of its right to academic freedom. Claims about clandestine recruitment of communists in the campus, which require rigorous probe, are not grounds for unilaterally cancelling an agreement, which was founded on a constitutional right,” he said. For her part, Vice President Leni Robredo slammed yesterday the termination of the 1989 UP-DND agreement, saying it was meant to silence government critics. “The unilateral scrapping of the decades-old accord sends the opposite message: That under this administration, anyone, anywhere, at anytime, is fair game. Clearly, then, this is not a practical gesture, but a symbolic one. One designed to sow fear. One designed to discourage dissent. One designed to silence criticism,” Robredo said in a statement.

For human rights lawyer Chel Diokno, the DND cannot just terminate the agreement without the consent of the other party. “It’s clear under article 1308 of the Civil Code: contracts ‘bind both contracting parties, its validity or compliance cannot be left to the will of one of them,’” Diokno wrote on Twitter.

Source: philstar.com