PUP: DND ended accord last year

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of National Defense (DND) under the previous administration also terminated a 1990 agreement with the Polytechnic University of the Philippines that prohibits the entry of military and police to its campuses without express permission from the PUP administration.

The PUP Sentro na Konseho ng Mag-aaral on Tuesday released a letter from the university’s chief legal counsel, Joanna Marie Liao, confirming that the agreement was unilaterally terminated by the DND on Jan. 19, 2022.

It happened a year after the DND unilaterally abrogated a similar agreement with the University of the Philippines(UP).

In her letter to PUP student council officials, Liao said the university conveyed its opposition to the DND “over the unilateral termination for being unnecessary.”

“Rather than resolving the issues, PUP believes that repudiating the agreement will only cause more confusion and unrest. While we recognize and value the role of our law enforcers in the preservation of peace and order in our society, we renounce any form of restriction to free expression, inquiry and discussion in the PUP academic community,” read the letter.

“In our response, we emphasized the importance of academic freedom and institutional autonomy in the full exercise of our right to education and stressed how the agreement helped quell the suspicions of the threats to liberty posed by standing armies. We ended our letter with a request for the DND to reconsider their decision and for a dialogue,” it added.

Liao said they have not received any response from the DND.

The PUP student council said the accord served as a “shield” to ensure that the university would remain a sanctuary of peace and learning. It urged members of the university community to protect the institution and work together to ensure its safety.

Signed in 1990 by then PUP president Nemesio Prudente and then defense secretary Fidel Ramos, the agreement established protocols regarding the conduct of military and police operations within PUP campuses.

At the time, the country’s police force – the Philippine Constabulary-Integrated National Police – was under the jurisdiction of the DND. The Philippine National Police (PNP), which is under the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), became operational in 1991.

It was unclear if the PUP has a similar agreement with the DILG and the PNP.

Following the abrogation of the UP-DND accord in 2021, several legislators have pushed for the passage of a law that will institutionalize the agreement. Various groups have called for a more extensive version that will also cover other educational institutions.