Groups protest repeal of UP-DND accord

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

 

The University of the Philippines (UP) community and several progressive groups on Wednesday staged a protest rally at the UP-Visayas Iloilo City Campus to denounce the Department of National Defense’s (DND) move to terminate the 1989 UP-DND Accord.

 

The 31-year-old agreement between the university and the defense department was “abrogated” by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana in a January 15, 2021 letter.

 

The letter was made public January 18.

The agreement regulated the entry of police officers and military members into the campuses of the UP system.

It was signed by then-UP President Jose V. Abueva and then-DND Secretary Fidel V. Ramos after the reported abduction of a staffer of UP Diliman’s campus-wide publication, the Philippine Collegian in July 1989.

Police vehicles were spotted roving outside the Iloilo City campus during the rally.

Only select representatives of student, faculty, and other sectoral organizations were present in keeping with COVID-19 health protocols.

The sudden termination of the accord was the highlight of the rally. The participants repeated chants of “Defend UP!”, and called out President Rodrigo Duterte’s fixation on UP and students who were allegedly “indoctrinated” by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing New People’s Army (NPA).

Protesters also called out the “ineffectiveness” of the government to respond to more significant threats, such as the West Philippine Sea disputes and public health threats including COVID-19.

Early Sol Gadong, president of the All UP Academic Employees Union Iloilo and Tacloban, told Daily Guardian that the abrogation of the accord encroaches on the academic freedom of the faculty, affecting the way that they teach.

 

“We in UP, as faculty members, have always had the academic freedom, the responsible transferring of knowledge. In the abrogation of the UP-DND accord, [State forces] can trample on the faculty members, especially with the Anti-Terror Law right now, they can point us for Inciting to Terrorism and other dangerous things,” Gadong said.

 

Mara Coo, a Councilor of the UP Visayas University Student Council, said that the repeal of the accord was an “undoing” of the historical basis for its signing.

 

“The UP-DND Accord is based on a long history, a product of decades-long struggle of militant students way back during Martial Law. This needs to be preserved because UP is a sanctuary of the oppressed and a haven of the marginalized. Critical thinking, discourse, and exchange of ideas exist within the university, and the government sees this as a threat in exposing their inefficiency and ignorance towards the people, especially during this pandemic,” said Coo.

 

Raoul Manuel, former UP Student Regent and current national convenor of Youth ACT Now, said that the unilateral termination “emboldens” state forces to clamp down on dissent, especially by the youth.

Manuel, UP Visayas’ first Summa Cum Laude graduate, pointed to several activities by the military such as the National Service Training Program (NSTP) in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) and the proposal to construct a military reserve in the campus of UP Mindanao in Davao City.

He also warned that the abrogation will create a “climate of fear” not only inside UP, but also in other SUCs.

 

“The State will become more brazen in attacking other students and youth because of this unilateral termination, because if they want to assert entry into UP, they can do this too in other State Universities and Colleges. The UP-DND accord protects the university from uncontrolled entry by military and police. Students, teachers, and staff who wish to be vocal may become scared to criticize current government policies,” Manuel told Daily Guardian.

 

Frena Cerdanio, chairperson of the Kabataan Partylist chapter at West Visayas State University (WVSU) echoed Manuel’s sentiments, calling the abrogation a “violation” by Lorenzana that will also affect other universities.

 

“This is not just an issue of UP alone, because the violation of Lorenzana shows that they do not have respect for students’ academic freedom and the rights to exercise their rights inside the school. If they can do this to UP where they have an agreement, how about other schools which do not have agreements like this? Other schools may become a target for militarization,” Cerdanio said.