The Univesity of the Philippines (UP) students held a protest at UP Diliman in Quezon City on Wednesday, June 1, to urge the incoming 19th Congress to institutionalize the UP-Department of National Defense (UP-DND) accord.
This is in line with the UP community's concern regarding harassment reports within the campuses.
Red-tagging activities on UP campuses nationwide intensified these past few months according to Renee Co, one of the protesters and a member of UP Student Regent in a press conference via Facebook live.
Once signed, UP-DND will guarantee academic freedom and protection of students from possible abuses from the military and police.
Also, the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, or any law enforcement agency will not be able to conduct any operations inside UP campuses without prior coordination with campus administrators.
Raoul Manuel, the appointed Kabataan party-list representative for the next congress, also attended the protest.
He assured that the UP-DND will be prioritized and the efforts of the UP community against the aforementioned issues will continue.
More than a year ago, DND unilaterally terminated its 31-year-old agreement with UP due to information that Communist groups were actively recruiting students inside the campuses.
This allowed law enforcement forces to enter the campus vicinity.
Members of the UP Office of the Student Regent and the Defend UP Network are actively pursuing the approval of UP-DND.
Defend UP Network comprises students, teachers, staff, and alumni from UP. (Luisa Cabato)