UPV chancellor to meet with students on RTF gab

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) Chancellor Dr. Clement Camposano will meet with several student leaders today, November 4, to explain what went on during his meeting with the Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) last October 29.

Camposano met with RTF-ELCAC officials headed by Regional Director Ana Liza Umpar of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), where he received books and listened to their presentation.

When he posted the meeting to his personal Facebook profile, he was met with criticism by former and current students, faculty, and alumni on social media.

Camposano defended his meeting with the RTF in another post, and also encouraged students to meet him in Miagao to discuss the matter with him personally.

He told Daily Guardian in a phone interview that he hoped that he would be able to discuss the entirety of the meeting with the students at the UPV Iloilo City campus.

Addressing the criticisms he received, Camposano said he upholds their right to criticize him and would even defend their right to do so.

“I’m prepared to give them a detailed account of what had happened. I understand why some people are angry as to why I even bothered to engage with the RTF-ELCAC. I do understand if they are criticizing me for it, they are welcome to do that. In fact, I will defend their right to criticize me,” Camposano said in a phone interview.

He also explained that he accepted the RTF-ELCAC’s request to meet with them “in the spirit of dialogue and exchange,” reiterating one of his Facebook posts defending the visit.

“It was really in the spirit of dialogue and exchange. I don’t want to censor those who would want to censor us. When we tell you that we believe in academic freedom, that freedom extends even to those ideas we don’t like, even to claims that we consider questionable,” he explained.

The chancellor also denied reports of signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) on their meeting.

“There was no NDA. It was an open meeting. I will never agree to any non-disclosure, because there was nothing new about what they said in Congress, including the testimonies,” he said.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Camposano discussed the entirety of what had happened during the RTF-ELCAC meeting, where the group introduced their nature and legal bases.

Alleged former rebels also appeared to present themselves and their claims about being part of so-called communist rebel groups.

One of the alleged former rebels, who presented himself as a former UPV student, even named some faculty who were “cadres” of the Communist Party of the Philippines and accused some student organizations of being rebel fronts.

They also showed older clips of Luis Jalandoni and Jose Ma. Sison which the NICA has been previously showing in “roadshows” in other universities.

UPV Vice Chancellor Harold Monteclaro also provided a presentation on the university’s research and extension efforts.

“There was really nothing new that was mentioned. I requested the presentation to be cut short. I just gave a short reply, and told [Umpar] that I would write a more substantive reply to the engagement, but I simply said that one thing that defines UP is the free and open exchange of the widest range of ideas, and that is not negotiable,” Camposano narrated.

“I also told them that UPV is not just here to train young minds. The true nature and business of UP is to develop the intellectual capital of the country. We cannot do that without academic freedom. We cannot do that exposing our students to all kinds of ideas,” he added.

He said that they did not discuss the removal of some books in other state universities in recent months, adding that his stance is still firm against the removal of books.

“I’ve already made a statement. If other state universities and colleges are prepared to give up their books, we are not. The only thing we are prepared to do is to accept more books, and all kinds. I hold the view that we should not entertain the notion of ‘subversive’ books, because there should be no ‘subversive books’ in an institution founded on academic freedom. To entertain the notion is to plant the seeds of censorship. It’s a slippery slope,” he said.

The RTF-ELCAC donated books to UPV, including a coffee table book by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), an NTF-ELCAC publication, and “The Wars Within” by Phil Fortuno.

The chancellor said that he is still open to engage with government agencies, if it is consistent with the university’s mandates, including education, research, and extension.

“I feel that if there are more opportunities for me to state more clearly and more forcefully in the future why we cannot compromise academic freedom, I’ll take advantage of that opportunity. UPV being a state institution is ready to engage government more broadly, especially in areas where we have expertise,” he said.