UP official decries AFP's ‘show of force’ inside campus

January 21 ------ An official of the University of the Philippines-Diliman on Wednesday denounced the entry of troops from the 7th Civil Relations Group of the Civil Relations Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines inside the campus to inspect their urban gardening project. The visit was conducted after the Department of National Defense unilaterally abrogated the agreement with the university banning military and police forces inside the campus if there is no coordination.

“For us talaga, it was, para sa kanila ipakita na puwede na sila na pumasok sa campus and they did that and not just in Arboretum, I think, they also went in Village B,” UP Diliman vice chancellor for community affairs Prof. Aleli Bawagan, PhD said in Chino Gaston’s report on “24 Oras.” “Wala nga silang, hindi nila programa whatever garden is in Village B dahil ang paalam lang ng barangay ay Arboretum. The other garden ay hindi sinabi ng barangay na kasama nila ang AFP,” Bawagan added.

In a photo posted by Gaston on Twitter earlier, military trucks and personnel could be seen entering the UP Arboretum. Meanwhile, group commander Major Frank Sayson said the intention of their visit was for nation-building. “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,” Sayson said in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV.

“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. Sayson said UP chancellor Dr. Fidel Nemenzo approved the implementation of the project for six months, from July to December 2020. The project could be extended after review, the group said. Moreover, in a statement, the 7th Civil Relations Group said the “Raise to One Million Gardens in NCR” has expanded into six community gardens within Barangay UP Campus.

“Amid the controversies surrounding the abrogation of the 1989 DND-UP accord, the 7th Civil Relations Group of the Civil Relations Service of the AFP has been constantly entering Barangay UP Campus and the UP Diliman campus itself,” the military group said. “During the GCQ and new normal where almost everyone lost their income and sources of livelihood, the 7CRG introduced the Raise to One Million Gardens in NCR,” it added. It also said that the local communities in Barangay UP Campus accepted its “Hardin Hero Challenge” to maintain and sustain their gardens that will supply them vegetables, herbal and medicinal plants as well as fruits.

UP president Danilo Concepcion on Tuesday said the unilateral termination of the DND-UP pact on the ban on entry of state forces in UP campuses was unnecessary and unwarranted. The UP community has denounced the termination of the decades-old agreement with the government through a protest on Tuesday.

Source: gmanetwork.com