Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate on Sunday urged Barangay UP chairperson Zenaida Lectura to carefully study the plan of the Philippine National Police to hold a 10-day immersion in the campus community, citing it may have dire consequences for the residents.
“We have received complaints in the past that police immersion programs are in fact used for intelligence information gathering. In some cases, such immersions are the preludes to raids done in communities,” he said.
“The PNP may just be testing the waters if they can get away with it, then later on launch other operations like the ones that happened in the bloody Sunday massacre in Southern Tagalog,” he added.
He said the police may not just be targeting students, faculty, staff and other UP residents in their operation but the Lumad bakwit school in the campus just like what happened in the University of San Carlos in Cebu City.
“We believe it would be more prudent that this police immersion not be allowed inside the UP campus community. Baranggay and university officials should continuously assert that UP should not be militarized. Acts and programs designed to stifle dissent and independent thinking have no place in UP or any place of learning for that matter,” he stressed.