The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) welcomed the decision of the Department of National Defense (DND) to terminate the accord signed with the University of the Philippines (UP) in 1989, which prohibits the state forces from entering the university premises without prior notice to the school administration.
(Photo by Jansen Romero / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
The PCG said the termination of the UP-DND accord “does not mean an end to responsible academic freedom.”
“The cessation of the 1989 UP-DND Accord that firewalled the country's premier source of world-class talents and leaders does not mean an end to responsible academic freedom, but simply signals that observance of equity in roles and equality in rules by all has come to time,” the PCG said in a statement on Tuesday.
According to PCG, allowing the military forces inside the school premises remains a basic social contract, which “applies to all.”
“This gesture in a mature democracy should open more opportunities for more effective collaboration between the academe and the uniformed services in the Philippines,” it added.
In a letter to UP President Danilo Concepcion dated January 15, 2021, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that the DND-UP Accord "is hereby terminated or abrogated effective this date."
Lorenzana said the termination of the pact was part of the military's intensified campaign against communist insurgency. He suspected that UP was a "haven" for NPA recruiters, a claim that was denied by UP President Danilo Concepcion.
He said a dialogue has been scheduled between him and Concepcion this week to discuss the abrogation of the UP-DND accord. (With a report from Martin Sadongdong)
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