Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Tuesday justified his decision to unilaterally terminate the 1989 accord between the Department of National Defense (DND) and the University of the Philippines (UP) which prohibits state forces from entering its campus premises, claiming that it has already become a “safe haven” for enemies of the State.
Lorenzana has sent a letter to UP President Danilo Concepcion informing him about the abrogation of the DNDUP Accord.
The termination took effect on January 15, 2021.
“The agreement has become obsolete. The times and circumstances have changed since the agreement was signed in 1989, three years after the martial law ended. The agreement was a gesture of courtesy accorded to UP upon the University’s request,” Lorenzana said.
The Defense Chief claimed that the accord is being used by members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)-New People's Army (NPA) as a shield to recruit students inside UP campuses.
The accord, signed on June 30, 1989 to address the disappearance of student activists during the Marcos administration's martial law, requires military and police forces to seek permission from the UP Chancellor before they can enter the campus premises.
“he University of the Philippines has become the breeding ground of intransigent individuals and groups whose extremist beliefs have inveigled students to join their ranks to fight against the government,” Lorenzana said.
“The country’s premier state university has become a safe haven for enemies of the State,” he added.
In his reply letter, Concepcion expressed the UP community's “grave concern” over the abrogation of the accord.
He described the abrogation as “totally unnecessary and unwarranted.”
“We regret that the agreement was abrogated unilaterally, without the prior consultation that would have addressed the concerns you raised in your letter,” Concepcion wrote.
“Instead of instilling confidence in our police and military, your decision can only sow more confusion and mistrust, given that you have not specified what it is that you exactly aim to do or put in place in lieu of the protections and courtesies afforded by the agreement,” he added.
Concepcion maintained that they “do not condone sedition, armed insurrection, or the use of violence for political ends.”
Lorenzana appealed to the UP community to cooperate with the law enforcers in protecting its students from extremism and the communist armed struggle.
“The Department of National Defense will neither renege nor shirk on its duty to protect the rights of the majority. It will not tolerate those who will violate the laws of the land in the guise of lawful public dissent, free assembly, and free speech. It is our sworn duty to protect the Filipino people,” Lorenzana said.
“The Department of National Defense only wants what is best for our youth. Let us join hands to protect and nurture our young people to become better citizens of our great nation,” he added.