UP community commemorates anniversary of UP-DND Accord abrogation; calls for immediate action, continuous support
By Rochel M. Floron IV
In a letter dated January 15, 2021, the Department of Defense (DND), under the then-Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, informed the University of the Philippines (UP) President Danilo Concepcion that the three-decade-old UP-DND accord is unilaterally abrogated. Since then, different stakeholders such as students and faculties of the university have received intensified attacks in many forms from state forces as they continue to uphold academic freedom and continue to fight for human rights and civil liberties. In addition, throughout those periods up until today, the university still fights for the institutionalization of the said accord in the UP Charter.
University Student Councils (USCs) from all UP units, the UP Office of the Student Regent, and representatives from progressive organizations, as spearheaded by the Defend UP Network, virtually gathered yesterday, January 18, to commemorate the anniversary of the said abrogation in a press conference. Meanwhile, the Chancellors of UP Diliman and Visayas, and the Dean of the UP College of Law expressed their support through video recording.
In the said event, they also discussed the progress of House Bill (HB) 10171, the situation of each UP unit, and why the UP community and the whole education sector should fight for the institutionalization of the UP-DND accord.
Legal Battles
UP Student Regent (SR) Renee Co gave updates regarding the developments unfolding at the chambers of Congress. According to Co, the HB 10171 or the UP Security Bill institutionalizing the 1989 UP-DND agreement into the UP Charter is now on its roll in the lower chamber while still on the talks in the upper chamber.
The HB 10171 has almost made it pass the House of Representatives (HOR) after getting a nod on the third reading with an overwhelming majority vote of 179 in favor of the bill and without abstention, if not due to the motion for reconsideration of its final approval filed by Cavite Representative Jesus Crispin Remulla.
Kabataan Partylist Representative Sarah Elago together with other MAKABAYAN bloc representatives moved to declare the said motion for reconsideration null and void because it is a violation of Section 106 of the Rules of the 18th Congress.
Rep. Elago, who also attended the virtual commemoration, has expressed her support for the institutionalization of the agreement while slamming the HOR for seemingly stalling its passage despite overwhelming support.
Meanwhile, SR Co said that they have called the attention of the Senate to take measures to approve the Senate version of the bill filed by Senator Joel Villanueva as it is still pending at the committee level. She added that the Senate has already started debating the bills since December 7 last year.
“Kaysa sa pakinggan ang UP. Kaysa sa pakinggan ang mga paraalan at unibersidad, ang mga kabataan at mag-aaral na susi sa mas maayos na kinabuksan, binabalewala at hina-harass lang ng estado ng iba’t ibang elements nito ang mga sektor na ito,” said SR Renee Co.
Situations on the Ground
Every representative from all UP units reported an intensified attack and intimidation from the state forces not only against students but also to other sectors to which they are concerned.
Representatives from UP Baguio USC, Anakbayan UP Baguio, League of Filipino Students-Metro Baguio, and Alliance of Concerned Students of UP Baguio, revealed the increased red-tagging of students citing the virtual webinar launched by the Regional Task Force to End Local Communist (RTF-ELCAC) together with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). They have also reported the wider militarization against defenders of human rights, ancestral lands, and Indigenous People (IP) lands in the Cordillera region.
Meanwhile, UP Manila (UPM) USC has reported that the student councils of the UPM School of Health Sciences gathered information of their constituents being attacked during their community practicum while surveying.
UP Los Banos (UPLB) USC then stated that the abrogation of the UP-DND Accord essentially weakened activism in the Southern Tagalog region because the University is the center of activism in the region. UPLB USC mentioned the Bloody Sunday Massacre in the Southern Tagalog region as a manifestation of the intensified crackdown against dissenters. To regain some of their democratic spaces, the council together with other student movements and organizations in Los Banos have passed the Safe-Haven Resolution in the university that aims to protect the community against state-sponsored attacks.
Furthermore, the UP Visayas (UPV) USC mentioned that the welcoming of the UPV administration to the RTF-ELCAC for dialogue just increased the insecurity of the stakeholder because the latter has been an active player in student oppression. The UPV-Tacloban USC referred to the previous incidents of state forces’ unwarranted entry to the campus by providing made-up reasons as proof of the necessity of the accord.
UP Mindanao USC accounted for the different forms of harassment not only to their constituents but also to the oppressed and displaced people within the premises of the university. They reiterated that the institutionalization of the UP-DND accord would provide strong protection for them.
The constituents and council members of the UP Clark and UP Diliman Extension Program in Pampanga and Olongapo (UPDEPPO) have reported threats from unknown users on their Facebook page.
Finally, the College of Science Representative to the UP Cebu USC has commemorated the incident of Cebu 8 where eight innocent individuals, including UPC students and alumni, were arrested inside the premises of the University. This event was one of the very first mobilizations done in connection with the abrogation.
The UP Diliman USC meanwhile has decried the increased budget of NTF-ELCAC and its anti-student activities that suppress academic freedom. They called on the UP students, administrators, Board of Regents, and other UP allies, especially those in the government, to defend and uphold the protection of the university and its academic freedom.
Why should UP fight
According to UP Diliman Chancellor Fidel Nemenzo, UP constituents should be able to freely express their sentiments without the fear of legal persecution, threats of arrest, and violent hostility. He furthered that institutions of higher learning will only flourish in an environment where the mind reigns without constrictions of any and all kinds of censorship.
This statement was supported by Rep. Elago, she said that everyone, not only the UP stakeholders, should fight for the institutionalization of the UP-DND accord because of the continuous attacks against academic freedom as evidenced by the book purging in state universities and colleges as well as the unwarranted entry of state agents in campuses. She added that this can be a good precedent for other state universities to reclaim their democratic spaces.
Meanwhile, despite the long process that this is currently taking, UP College of Law Dean Edgardo Carlo L. Vistan II reminded the listeners that small steps are still step forward and that the UP community should come together now more than ever,
“Lumipas na ang isang taon mula noon, ngunit panatag tayong umuusad dahil alam natin na may puhunan tayo na samahan at kakayahan para ipagpatuloy ang adhikain nating lahat na bigyang proteksyon ang unibersidad at ang mga taong nag-ta-trabaho, nag-aaral, at nakatira rito. Kami naman dito sa UP College of Law ay patuloy na tutulong sa bagay na ito,” Vistan II expressed.
The virtual press conference ended with a statement from Leody de Guzman, a current presidential aspirant and the chairperson of Buklurang Manggagawang Pilipino, in which he reasserted that having academic freedom would be the most beneficial to students.
“Naniniwala ako na ang ideyang sumusulpot sa isip ng kadang isang malayang mag-aaral ay hindi dapat supilin dahil esensyal ang iniaambag nito sa bayan,” de Guzman remarked.
