The long-awaited dialog between University of the Philippines and the Department of National Defense on the abrogation of the 1989 DND-UP Accord was finally held Thursday when the Commission on Higher Education facilitated the meeting between UP President Danilo Concepcion and DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana in Quezon City.
“I thank Secretary Lorenzana and President Concepcion for their statesmanship and openness to talk to each other and to raise their concerns and observations on the DND-UP accord,” said CHED Chairman J. Prospero E. De Vera III.
“As I have said in my previous statement, both DND and UP have publicly stated their continuing commitment to protect academic freedom, promote the welfare of students, and enforce national laws – all embodied in no less than the Constitution itself,” he added.
“It is therefore crucial that both sides start discussing their concerns and this morning I am happy to bring together UP and DND so that both sides can have an open and frank exchange of views over a wide range of issues related to the accord.”
No less that the Senate adopted a Senate Resolution 616 urging the DND and UP to revisit the agreement on military presence in the state university’s campuses and called for a dialogue between both parties.
“I ask everyone to support the efforts of UP and DND so we can continue to build trust and a common direction for the future. The Joint Statement issued today is a good start in ensuring that the dialogue will continue,” De Vera added.
De Vera said that CHED would continue hosting dialogs not just between UP and DND but all public and private higher education institutions to find a common ground on how to protect the interest of 3.1 million students while upholding academic freedom.
The dialog was also attended by DND Undersecretary for Defense Operations Cesar Yano, AFP spokesman Major General Edgard Arevalo, UP Vice President for Public Affairs Elena Pernia and CHED Executive Director Cinderella Filipina Benitez-Jaro.
In a related development, opposition Senator Leila de Lima has filed a bill seeking to uphold academic freedom in the University of the Philippines to ensure that exchange and expression of ideas are free from intimidation from coercive forces of the State within the university premises.
De Lima’s proposed measure – Senate Bill 2035 – seeks to amend Republic Act No. 9500 or “The University of the Philippines Charter of 2008.”
“While it is important to protect our national security, it is likewise important to afford our academic institutions the democratic space conducive to free exchange of ideas and critical thinking, which leads to more effective participation in the national conversation,” she said.
“It must be emphasized that nothing in this bill prevents any lawful exercise of the law enforcement powers of the President through the PNP and other civilian law enforcement units, within the bounds of the Constitution and the guidelines of due process,” she added.
In a letter dated Jan. 15, Lorenzana informed Concepcion of the DND’s decision to end the agreement with the university. Lorenzana cited information that communists were supposedly recruiting students inside campuses of the state university.
The agreement, first hatched under the Cory Aquino administration in June 1989, provided that the military and the police were prohibited from entering the premises of any UP campus or its regional units without prior notice to the university’s administration.