The Defend UP Network feared human rights and academic freedom violations will worsen amid frequent state forces presence across UP constituent universities (CU), following Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro’s disapproval of the revival of the UP-DND Accord, June 8. 

Teodoro said he does not intend to reverse the decision of his predecessor who unilaterally abrogated the UP-DND Accord, the agreement that barred police and military entry into the university without prior notification to the UP administration. This, despite the persistent campaign of UP stakeholders to reinstate the pact to preserve the university’s institutional autonomy.

The UP community will be more vulnerable to violations of basic rights as state forces enter the university grounds more frequently, said Don Alejandro Aison, convenor of the Defend UP Network, a systemwide coalition advocating for the defense of academic freedom. 

Since January, at least 66 cases of entry of uniformed personnel into the university have been recorded by the network and the Collegian. The cases range from police mobiles roaming around the campuses to state forces holding seminars that red-tagged progressives (see sidebar 1). 

“Iyong presensya nila (state forces) rito ay may implikasyon talaga na may banta sa kaligtasan at seguridad di lang ng mga mag-aaral, kundi ng kaguruan, kawani, at iba pang sektor sa loob ng pamantasan,” said Aison.

The UP Office of the Student Regent (OSR) has also sounded the alarm and lodged a report to the UP administration on June 28 regarding the cases of police presence and rights violations in different CUs. The OSR implored the chancellors to institute mechanisms that will protect stakeholders from rights violations.

“We hope that these concerns will be addressed and the concerns of the student be alleviated for we cannot give institutions with a history of hostility, animosity, and violence any place inside our university,” wrote the OSR in the letter. 

Incursions and Violations 

Apart from sightings of state forces incursions, the network documented 11 cases of red-tagging, nine instances of intimidation and harassment, eight incidents of surveillance, and five cases of arrest and abduction during the academic year.

On February 22, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) conducted a seminar in UP Los Baños (UPLB) that red-tagged progressive organizations. A day after, Youth Defy Marcos and Duterte Southern Tagalog Spokesperson Clyde Naranjo was surveilled by an unidentified person. John Peter Garcia, a UPLB student, was also red-tagged and surveilled by the 59th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army.

In the month that followed, a UP Mindanao student was threatened, profiled, and red-tagged by a member of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). This, after several reports surfaced regarding the presence on the campus of the 11th Regional Community Defense Group since February.

“Di natin ayaw sa presence nila dahil lang ayaw natin sa kanila naturally. Ang ginigiit natin dito ay ang AFP at Philippine National Police ay may mahabang kasysayan ng human rights violations,” Aison said.

In UP Diliman (UPD), where more than half of the total police sightings across the system were documented, faculty member and former union president Melania Flores was arrested on February 6 without coordination with university officials. Two months later, a UPD student was nabbed with five other activists by the police for protesting at the US Embassy in Manila. The cases against the student activists and Flores were subsequently dismissed. 

The network also expressed their concern on the enforced disappearances of several UP alumni such as former UP Baguio students Dexter Capuyan and Gene Roz “Bazoo” De Jesus. UP Manila alumni Patricia Cierva was captured by the Philippine army together with a fellow activist and was later presented by the NTF-ELCAC as “rebel returnees” after being held in a “secret prison” for 15 days. Dyan Gumanao and Armand Jake Dayoha, UP Cebu graduates, were abducted by police officers and surfaced after six days.

“Ang pangamba na dulot ng panghihimasok ng pulis at militar ay ever present hanggang sa kasalukuyan,” Aison said.

Institutionalization of Protection

In response to the growing number of police incursions on the campus, the UPD University Student Council sent a letter of inquiry on June 6 to the UPD Office of the Chancellor, urging action from the administration. The administration has yet to reply, according to Aison. 

On a systemwide level, the sectoral regents are lobbying for the creation of the Committee on the Protection and Promotion of Academic Freedom and Human Rights.

The committee aims to spearhead unifying efforts across the system to strengthen academic freedom, monitor violations, provide legal and logistical support to victims, and coordinate with the national government, among others. 

The proposal for the creation of the committee has already been completed after undergoing reviews and consultations across CUs. It now only awaits Jimenez’s approval.

“Iyong committee na pino-propose sa systemwide level ay effort na i-replicate iyong mga ginagawa na sa constituent universities ... And, similarly, para ma-replicate rin iyong institutional safeguards katulad ng Safe Haven Resolution ng UPLB,” explained Aison.

In 2021, the UPLB University Council, its highest academic body, passed the “Resolution to Make UPLB a Safe Haven of Free and Critical Thinking.” The measure enjoins the community to aid in the review of the UP-DND Accord, support campaigns for academic freedom and human rights, and push for the establishment of a committee that will discuss national concerns.

Aison clarified that the committee does not seek to replace the local actions of CUs. It will act as a unifying body to coordinate with others and help campuses strengthen their own protective mechanisms. 

Reviving the Accord 

Stakeholders are boosting their own efforts to protect the community as the institutionalization of the UP-DND Accord remains in limbo in Congress. The bill that incorporates the abrogated accord to UP Charter passed the House on September 21, 2021, before being rescinded due to then Cavite 7th district Rep. Jesus Crispin Remulla’s motion for reconsideration. 

The Makabayan Bloc refiled the bill through HB 1154 in July 2022 and Sen. Joel Villanueva authored Senate Bill 737, also aimed at institutionalizing the UP-DND Accord in the same month. Both measures are pending at the committee level. 

Reinstating the UP-DND Accord is necessary to grant UP an institutional safeguard from state intervention, according to Aison. “The very reason it (UP-DND Accord) was established was in recognition of respect for the university as an academic institution doon sa mandate ng state forces na i-uphold ang rule of law.”

Contrary to the UP Board of Regent’s support for the revival of the UP-DND Accord in 2021, Jimenez said in a previous interview with the Collegian that he does not support its institutionalization because it has been “made irrelevant” by the UP-DILG Accord, another pact that necessitates prior notification to university officials before entry of the PNP is permitted. But according to Aison, the UP-DILG Accord is not being observed systemwide. 

Due to persistent transgressions and the lack of willingness of the national government to protect academic freedom, the Defend UP Network called on the administration and the community to intensify efforts in defending the university by prohibiting the presence of police and military officials.

“Kung unilaterally idedeklara ng DND na di nila gagalangin ang UP-DND Accord, unilaterally ring idedeklara ng UP community na di kayo welcome rito,” Aison said. “Ang mga tumatapak sa karapatang pantao ay bawal tumapak sa aming mga campus.” ●

With reports from Mary June Ricaña and Rona Pizarro.