Duterte Youth urges DND to scrap pact with PUP banning soldiers, cops

The Duterte Youth party-list is calling on the Department of National Defense (DND) to terminate as well its agreement with the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) which bars the entry of state forces in its campuses without prior notice.

This, after the defense department unilaterally abrogated its pact with the University of the Philippines (UP) forged as early as 1989.

In a statement, Duterte Youth party-list Representative Ducielle Cardema, herself a UP graduate, claimed that radical leftists groups have abused the UP-DND Accord in order to escape arrest for their "seditious acts."

These groups, she added, have also abused the term "academic freedom" to supposedly commit sedition or incite people to rebel against the government.

"With this in mind... the Duterte Youth party-List fully supports the move of the DND to cancel the UP-DND Accord which has been abused by some radical leftist groups to promote the youth recruitment of the CPP-NPA-NDF in their campuses," Cardema said.

"As Vice-Chairperson of the House Committee on National Defense and Security, I call on the DND to also cancel its similar PUP-DND Accord," she added.

The UP-DND and PUP-DND Accords, Cardema said, create inequality among the more than 400 campuses of various State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) in the Philippines, as it gives "special treatment" to only two universities.

"Itong UP-DND Accord at PUP-DND Accord ay klarong klaro na special treatment na inabuso na, sa tagal ng panahon," she said.

'Kung sa 400 plus campuses ng iba’t ibang SUCs ng bansa wala namang ganyang accord pero peaceful naman, tama lamang tanggalin na ang special treatment na yan na naaabuso rin naman," she added.

Earlier in the day, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the DND was also looking into terminating similar agreements with other schools where communist rebels allegedly recruit students as new members.

UP President Danilo Concepcion, nevertheless, said that termination of the UP-DND Accord was "totally unnecessary and unwarranted," and may only taint the relations between the two institutions.

He also maintained that they do not condone sedition, armed insurrection, or the use of violence for political ends. -NB, GMA News