CAMP MELCHOR F. DELA CRUZ, Upi, Gamu, Isabela – The 5th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army backs the abrogation of the agreement between the University of the Philippines (UP)-Department of National Defense (DND) by DND Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana.
Major Gen. Laurence E. Mina, 5th ID chief, believes that the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) has long been targeting the students of UP to become student-activist recruits and CPP-NPA cadres.
Mina said many casualties of armed engagements between government forces and the NPA turned out to be UP student-activist-turned NPAs.
“Many bright students have lost their lives in armed encounters blinded by the crooked ideology. It is along this concerned that the security forces would want to protect the youth in their pursuit of academic excellence without curtailing their right to express their sentiments.”
Mina also believes that the termination of the agreement doesn’t mean suppression of academic freedom.
He said State universities in their area of responsibility have been enjoying academic freedom even without any accord or agreement with the same context.
“Education and freedom are for everyone. It is for every Filipino to freely express their dissatisfaction to the government without involving themselves in armed revolution which is a different story.”
Sambayanan, a group of former CPP-NPA cadres, also support the abrogation.
Sambayan said the CPP-NPA-National Democratic Front has distorted and manipulated advocacies.
They said these are being made by the CPP-NPA-NDF using their legal covers which are actually CPP-created above ground front organizations which continue to dominate the propaganda environment inside UP and other universities.