Ban on military forces entering campuses rescinded

Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on 18 January ordered the cancellation of an agreement barring military and police personnel from conducting operations inside the campuses of the University of the Philippines. The decision has drawn widespread condemnation, including from Vice-President Leni Robredo, who said that this is meant to “discourage dissent” and “silence criticism”, writes Michael Beltran for The News Lens.

The University of the Philippines-Department of National Defense (UP-DND) accord, signed in 1989, has prevented armed forces from stepping onto university grounds without first coordinating with school officials or unless they are in hot pursuit of a criminal. But in a letter sent by Lorenzana to Danilo Concepcion, president of the University of the Philippines, the country’s top university, he said that the termination of the agreement was in pursuance of “national security” because there exists a “clandestine operation” to recruit students into the communist guerrilla group, the New People’s Army (NPA).

A large protest against the abrogation of the agreement gathered the following day at the University of the Philippines. Concepcion called the decision “unwarranted” and insisted that as an educational institution they will remain “a safe haven for all beliefs and forms of democratic expression”.
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Concepcion said the agreement was terminated “without prior consultation” with the University of the Philippines administration, writes Bonz Magsambol for Rappler. “I must express our grave concern over this abrogation, as it is totally unnecessary and unwarranted, and may result in worsening rather than improving relations between our institutions, and detract from our common desire for peace, justice and freedom in our society,” Concepcion said. “Instead of instilling confidence in our police and military, your decision can only sow more confusion and mistrust, given that you have not specified what it is that you exactly aim to do or put in place in lieu of the protections and courtesies afforded by the agreement,” he said.
Full story on the Rappler site