Although Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. acknowledges the autonomy of the University of the Philippines (UP), he said that he will not reverse the termination of its accord with the Department of National Defense (DND). In 2021, the administration of then President Duterte ended the UP-DND accord that prohibits the entry of state forces into its campuses without prior notice. “I’m not anymore. That’s a policy already done my predecessor. I don’t want to reverse the policy,” he said in a Palace briefing when asked about the UP-DND accord. “But that doesn’t mean to say that I’m not mindful of the autonomy of the University of the Philippines and I urge everybody to be respectful of that without need of any MOA (memorandum of agreement),” Teodoro went on. He recalled that when he was DND secretary he did not also favor putting a lot of “zones of peace” entered into by the local government of Tarlac, his hometown. “Zones of peace”, according to him, are be used as “safe havens.” Meanwhile, the Defense chief, who is an alumnus of UP, urged all law enforcement officers to “be mindful of the balance of freedom of expression  and the protecting the peace.” Teodoro also said that he does not support any move to institutionalize the UP-DND agreement. However, the DND secretary stated that if legislators formalize the agreement and the President signs it into law, they will abide by it. “Hindi ko susuportahan (pag-institutionalize sa kasunduan), hindi lang naman ang UP, eh. Bakit bukod tangi ang ating unibersidad? Nandyan din naman ang ibang unibersidad na public institutions din (I don’t support any move to institutionalize the accord, because it’s not just UP. Why is our university so one of a kind? There are other universities that are also public institutions),” Teodoro explained. “At ito naman, for fairness sake, hindi lang nman ang ang UP na pinagrerecruitan ng mga insurgent, marami pang unibersidad. Napo-focus lamang ang UP sapagkat it is the most prominent university of the Philippines, actually (And this, for fairness sake, it’s not only UP where insurgents try to recruit members, there are other universities. UP is only being focused because it’s the most prominent university of the Philippines,” he continued. It can be recalled that then Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana that UP cannot be given special consideration or compared to the demilitarized zone that separates the Korean Peninsula, where military entry is prohibited without prior cooperation. Earlier, various groups have expressed concern over the abrogation of the UP-DND accord. In 2021, a bill institutionalizing the 1989 UP-DND accord hurdled third reading approval at the House of Representatives. House Bill 10171 aims to prohibit state security forces, such as the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), from entering and carrying out their duties on any UP campus without first notifying "the President or the Chancellor of the constituent university or the dean of the regional unit concerned," with the exception of "hot pursuit and similar occasions or emergencies."