A Tagbilaran City councilor said that the termination of the almost 31-year old Department of National Defense (DND) and University of the Philippines agreement barring military and police from entering UP campuses is a “threat” to academic freedom.
“Sa pag ingon na mo sud ang mga military anytime didto sa UP mura’g threat na sa academic freedom sa akong pagtan-aw,” said Councilor Dodong Gonzaga who is an alumnus of the UP College of Law.
The last-term councilor expressed his opinion on the controversial issue as he recalled that he himself had witnessed state forces patrolling UP’s campus prior to the implementation of Martial Law in 1972.
Gonzaga joins several academics and politicians who have condemned the DND’s unilateral abrogation of the 1989 agreement with UP that prohibited the uncoordinated entry of military and police forces inside campuses of UP which has recently been accused of being a breeding ground for communist rebels.
Gonzaga said that the red-tagging of UP students is uncalled for considering that the university has produced a slew of leaders who have contributed to society.
“Dili pud siguro angay pasanginlan na ang tanang mga produkto sa UP mga NPA (New People’s Army kay daghan man pud og mga produkto sa UP na tarong, mga dagkong taw, nahimong presidente, nahimong senador, mga doctor, nurses ug uban pa,” said Gonzaga.
Gonzaga admitted that some UP students may have been lured to joining leftist movements but this does not mean that all of those enrolled at the state university are communists.
He said that everyone is entitled to have their own beliefs and that the government should only pursue those who have committed violations.
“Di pud siguro nato e-generalize nga tungod niana na naay uban na nahisaag pud kay we are given a free market of ideas kinahanglan pud na ipadayon ang agreement,” he said.
DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana earlier said that the accord is “a hindrance in providing effective security, safety and welfare” to the UP community, adding that “there is indeed an ongoing clandestine recruitment inside UP campuses nationwide for membership” in the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the NPA.
University President Danilo Concepcion has urged Lorenzana to revoke and reconsider his decision to terminate the agreement. (A. Doydora)