For the past two weeks we have seen universities banning books to fight the CPP-NPA. In one case the PNP and the AFP walked into the library and pulled out whatever it deemed to be subversive literature. It would seem they did this without any prior announcement. That is an important detail because right now the government wants to reinstate the UP-DND accord which would mean that the PNP and AFP cannot show up to campus unannounced. Some see this as a bad idea claiming it will allow CPP-NPA recruitment to thrive.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1154968 |
Concerned civil society organizations protested outside the Senate building on Tuesday to denounce a bill that will reinstate the University of the Philippines – Department of National Defense (UP – DND) accord.
The groups said Senate Bill No. 2002 will make UP a haven for communist terrorist groups (CTGs) as it grants minimal intrusion into the state university that could pave the way for recruitment of students.
Except during emergency cases or hot pursuit, the bill mentioned that no law enforcement agencies and members of the police and military shall enter UP-Diliman premises and other regional campuses.
If the request for assistance is granted, only uniformed personnel will be allowed in, except when the situation specifies otherwise.
Passing the bill would further strengthen CTGs and destroy the future of the Filipino youth, he added.
“(We all know that the CPP-NPA is a criminal organization and no longer has principles unlike before. It has been declared a terrorist organization by other countries. What we don’t understand why we still allow them to thrive),” Goitia said in an interview.
No UP student, faculty or employee can be put under custodial investigation without permission from university officials under the accord.
Senators Joel Villanueva, Nancy Binay, Grace Poe, Risa Hontiveros, Miguel Zubiri, and Sonny Angara co-authored the bill that seeks to amend Republic Act 9500, or the University of the Philippines Charter.
In January this year, the DND terminated the 1989 UP-DND Accord.
Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the agreement signed by former president Fidel Ramos and then UP president, the late Jose Abueva, was abrogated so the DND could perform its mandate to protect students from CTG recruitment.
The DND said clandestine recruitment takes place inside UP campuses nationwide, using the UP-DND accord as a shield.
The gist is that without the PNP and AFP being able to patrol UP campuses the CPP-NPA will continue with its CLANDESTINE recruitment. But if it's clandestine how are they supposed to stop it? Under the accord, which is now abrogated, no student, faculty member, or employee of the UP "can be put under custodial investigation without permission from university officials." That's a very important provision because it was the abduction and subsequent torture of a student which prompted the signing of the accord back in 1989.
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/772322/how-the-dnd-up-agreement-came-in-1989/story/ |
Reyes said the agreement, signed on June 30, 1989, provided the guidelines on the conduct of police and military operations so that the incident, involving one Donato Continente, would not happen again.
According to UP Professor Danilo Arao, the agreement was signed 14 days after Continente, then a staff of the Philippine Collegian, was abducted and later on tortured and forced to confess to the murder of American soldier Col. James Rowe.
In explaining the termination of the deal, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the agreement has become "obsolete," claiming that UP through the years has become "the breeding ground of intransigent individuals and groups whose extremist beliefs have inveigled students to join their ranks to fight against the government."
According to Lorenzana, who is a retired military general, the agreement was signed in 1989 as "a gesture of courtesy accorded to UP upon the University’s request."
DND Secretary Lorenzana sure is a real piece of work. He says that the accord has become obsolete and that it was only signed as "a gesture of courtesy." I suppose it's kind of like saying, "Oops, sorry we kidnapped a student and then tortured him into confessing to a murder."
It's funny how Lorenzana talks as if the DND knows just which groups with extremist beliefs are inveighling students into joining their ranks but he also says they are doing this clandestinely. It's either one or the other. If they know which groups are linked to the CPP-NPA then they should show their proof and then shut them down.
One point of contention about the abrogation of the UP-DND accord is that it will stifle academic freedom. Former Executive VP for the UP says that is wrong.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1154959 |
For former executive vice president of the University of the Philippines (UP) System, Dr. Ted Herbosa, House Bill 10171 institutionalizing the 1989 UP-Department of National Defense (DND) Accord does not protect academic freedom.
Herbosa said UP's academic freedom is already guaranteed by Republic Act 9500 also known as "The University of the Philippines Charter of 2008".
"Actually, it (academic freedom) is already incorporated in the UP Charter. So may batas na nagpapalawig nitong academic freedom (So there is already a law calling for the strengthening of academic freedom)," Herbosa said during Monday's episode of "Tagged! Debunking Lies by Telling the Truth".
House Bill 10171 does not ensure academic freedom protects the lawless elements present in any of the UP campuses.
"(What is it securing? It is securing the lawless elements present in a campus)," said Herbosa, who is also a special adviser to the National Task Force Against Covid-19.
He added that academic freedom is vested in the institution and not the people in it.
"(Institutions have academic freedom. All universities, all institutions of higher learning in the Philippines have academic freedom. They all have the right or freedom to discuss different thoughts like communism, socialism, capitalism, federalism, they can discuss that in the classroom setting)," he added.
Herbosa said many of the congressmen voted for the House bill as they are not really aware of the real meaning of academic freedom.
As former executive vice president of the UP System, Herbosa said he is aware of other things than communist recruitment going on the campuses.
"(But our problem when the (UP-DND Accord) was still existing, incidents of illegal gamblings, illegal drugs climbed in the residential areas of UP Diliman. There was also illegal cockfighting, it was not halted, there were also instances of pushers entering and selling illegal drugs, these were not stopped)," he added.
These are the bad effects of the UP-DND Accord and Herbosa said he is in agreement with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana who called for its abrogation last year, 32 years after it was signed on January 30, 1989.
Academic freedom is "vested in the institution and not the people in it?" Does this guy not know that PEOPLE make up the institution? Therefore academic freedom is invested in the people. RA 9500 did not even become law until 2008. Did the UP not have academic freedom until then?
If the UP-DND accord allowed cockfighting, illegal drugs, and other crimes to flourish that is on the UP police. They do have their own security and police force. If they cannot enforce the laws of the university that is on them.
But let's take a look at the actual text of the 1989 UP-DND accord and see what it has to say about academic freedom.
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| https://issuu.com/philippinecollegian/docs/1989-agreement-of-up-and-dnd-on-mil |
HAVING IN MIND the relationship between U.P. and its students, faculty and employees, as well as the academic freedom and institutional autonomy of U.P. in the governance of its affairs, and its responsibility to maintain proper behavior and conduct among the members of the U.P. Community;
4. Members of the AFP, or the PC-INP, er the CAFGU shall not interfere with peaceful protest actions by U.P. constituents within U.P. premises. U.P. officials shalL be deemed responsible for the behavior of their students, faculty and employees in such activities.
I think we all know how much the PNP and AFP "tolerate" protests on campus. They don't like them!
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| https://www.rappler.com/nation/cebu-police-deny-excessive-force-breaking-up-dnd-accord-protest-dispersal |
Central Visayas police denied accusations that it used excessive force when it dispersed anti-terror bill protesters and that it violated an agreement that banned the military and police from entering the University of the Philippines.
Police in anti-riot gear were seen on video manhandling protesters who were maintaining social distancing and assembling in front of the University of the Philippines gate on Gorordo Avenue here at around 10 am on Friday, June 5. (READ: Cops arrest 8 at anti-terrorism bill protest in Cebu City)
However, the police, who were in riot gear and carrying long firearms, claimed that it was the unarmed protesters who “assaulted” them.
“Some of the policemen were shoved,” Brigadier General Albert Ferro, Central Visayas police chief, said in a press conference on Friday. “They were pushed.”
Ferro said this was the reason the cops apprehended the protesters.
"The first time they were asked, our ground commander talked to them. They were asked to disperse. They didn't want to disperse," Ferro said. He said that the ground commanders had already "warned" the protesters to dispserse. "What should we do with them? Just allow them to rally?" he added.
It seems they should not have been on campus in the first place! Did they think showing up in riot gear would be a peaceful gesture?
There are two bills making their way through the legislature to restore the UP-DND accord. One is House Bill 10171 which seeks to institutionalize the 1989 accord by amending RA 9500 to include it. The other is Senate Bill 2002 which also seeks to institutionalize the 1198 UP DND accord by amending RA 9500. Both bills are practically the same but the Senate version has a few introductory paragraphs that are worthy of note.
The University of the Philippines (UP) has been one of our country’s bulwarks of free expression and activism. However, this status has long been threatened by the state efforts to minimize the unique role and participation of the University in social change.
The most recent attack on the University’s autonomy was made on January 18, 2021 when the Department of National Defense (DND) unilaterally terminated the 1989 UP-DND Accords, a document that guaranteed minimal state intrusion in the country’s premier university. The 1989 Accords was an offshoot of the 1982 Soto-Enrile Accord, which was an agreement that barred military forces fronr entering U.P. campuses all over the country.
The UP-DND accord is not a “Do not enter” sign that bars law enforcement from entering the campus. It is not a wall which obstructs justice or deters the solution or prevention of crime. It is unfortunate that its abrogation is being invoked for the wrong reasons. Implying that it has enabled thinking that is critical to the government is a gross misreading of UP’s role as vanguard of independent thought.
There is no monopoly of ideology in UP. It remains a big tent that shelters all ideas that can be pursued nonviolently. It is not a rebel recruitment station. On the contrary, it hosts many DDS whose are free to compete in the marketplace of ideas. It remains a citadel of excellence where the skills to serve the people are taught. This academic brilliance can only shine under a climate of freedom.
Let us nurture our youth’s passion for political and social causes; and prevent any attempt to take away these long-cherished values. It is our hope that this proposed measure will continue to foster these traditions of the country’s premier state university.
Even if these bills pass the legislative process Duterte will not be signing them into law.
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| https://www.rappler.com/nation/lorenzana-says-up-dnd-accord-will-not-return-under-duterte-administration |
The University of the Philippines (UP)-Department of National Defense (DND) Accord, which the government unilaterally abrogated earlier in 2021, will not be restored under the Duterte administration, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in a Rappler Talk interview on Wednesday, August 4.
Lorenzana said the decision was made after "much scrutiny and study" of defense officials.
(After much scrutiny and study, we at the defense department concluded that it doesn’t have to be revived because the functions of the AFP before, when the PC-INP was still under it, was transferred to the PNP or DILG. The defense department no longer covers that.)
Lorenzana explained that the accord only covers the Philippine Constabulary, and not the entire military and police. However, the accord, which was signed on June 30, 1989 by then-UP president Jose Abueva and then-defense chief Fidel V. Ramos provided the guidelines on both military and police operations inside UP campuses.
The defense chief said that since the PNP is under the DILG, UP should talk to that department instead.
“As far as we are concerned, the agreement is moot and academic. And dapat makipag-usap ‘yung UP doon na sa DILG (the UP should talk to the DILG),” Lorenzana said.
Lorenzana also revealed that the military's intelligence operations will continue inside UP campuses.
(The active intelligence inside the campus will continue because the country is open for intelligence. There’s no exclusive place where intelligence cannot operate.)
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