The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) confirmed that the much-anticipated dialogue between University of the Philippines (UP) and the Department of National Defense (DND) regarding the abrogation of the 1989 UP-DND accord was finally held on Thursday, Feb. 4.
CHED, led by its Chairman J. Prospero E. De Vera III, facilitated the meeting between UP President Danilo Concepcion and DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana in Quezon City.
The abrogation of the said Accord hugged the headlines in the media last month with various personalities and groups using the issue to assert their views for or against the controversial decision of DND.
De Vera thanked Lorenzana and Concepcion for their “statesmanship and openness” to talk to each other. During the meeting, he noted that both parties raised their concerns and observations on the terminated UP-DND accord.
Both DND and UP, De Vera said, have publicly stated their continuing commitment to protect academic freedom, promote the welfare of students, and enforce national laws – all embodied in no less than the Constitution itself.
“It is therefore crucial that both sides start discussing their concerns and this morning I am happy to bring together UP and DND so that both sides can have an open and frank exchange of views over a wide range of issues related to the Accord,” De Vera said.
CHED said that no less that the Senate adopted a Senate Resolution No. 616 urging the DND and UP to revisit an agreement on military presence in the state university’s campuses and called for a dialogue between both parties.
“I ask everyone to support the efforts of UP and DND so we can continue to build trust and a common direction for the future,” De Vera said.
“The Joint Statement issued today is a good start in ensuring that the dialogue will continue,” he added.
As stated in the joint statement, both parties agreed that the “dialogue afforded the key leaders the opportunity the way forward and possible areas of cooperation on how both institutions can promote their mutual aspirations to ensure a safe and secure environment conducive to learning.”
UP and DND also agreed to hold “subsequent meetings to continue the dialogue.”
The dialogue was also attended by DND Undersecretary for Defense Operations Cesar Yano, AFP Spokesman Major General Edgard Arevalo, UP Vice President for Public Affairs (VPPA) Elena Pernia and CHED Executive Director Cinderella Filipina Benitez-Jaro.
Meanwhile, De Vera assured that CHED will continue to host dialogues - not just between UP and DND - but “all public and private HEIs to find common ground on how to protect the interest of 3.1 million students while upholding academic freedom.”