Academic freedom ‘non-negotiable,’ senators say in support of bill amending UP Charter

Published January 21, 2021 03:17 PM By DONA MAGSINO,GMA News

Institutionalizing the agreement between the University of the Philippines and the Department of National Defense by amending the premier state university's Charter would place a strong position that academic freedom in the country cannot be compromised, Senator Grace Poe said Thursday.

"By institutionalizing the accord into UP's own Charter, we are sending a message that academic freedom is non-negotiable and must be upheld at all times as it is enshrined in the Constitution," Poe said in a message to GMA News Online.

She explained that Senate Bill No. 2002

, which she co-authored along with Senator Joel Villanueva and others, would keep state security forces outside the campuses except under certain conditions.

This is a commitment to the Filipino learners that "they are free to think critically and express freely their thoughts," she said.

Poe, who studied in UP, is optimistic that other members of the Senate will also see the wisdom behind this proposed law.

Senator Sonny Angara, also an alumnus of the university, emphasized that UP has always been recognized as a place where students could freely exchange ideas.

While supporting the military in combating the "long running and anachronistic insurgency," he said the unilateral abolition of the UP-DND accord is not the right step to take.

"That is why we in Congress approved a budget for community programs in areas just cleared of insurgents. Putting a military presence in UP not only reverses tradition, it also hurts the government’s efforts in this regard, with respect to the larger battle for hearts and minds," he said.

Also a co-author of the bill cementing the UP-DND accord in the UP Charter, Angara explained that state forces would not be totally banned from entering the UP campuses as it provides for some conditions when the police and military can enter.

"These provisions were just lifted from the 1989 UP-DND Accord, which in turn formalized the Enrile-Soto discussion in 1982," he said.

Senator Risa Hontiveros has also asked Villanueva, the principal author of the measure, to make her a co-author.

In an interview on CNN-Philippines, the opposition senator said that upholding academic freedom and protecting the exercise of which is needed now more than ever.

The unilateral decision of the DND to terminate the accord damages the spirit of the rule of law, she stressed.

"I really do hope na may pag-asa ito (bill) sa Senado... I do hope that we can attend to it soonest, medyo urgent 'yung situation," Hontiveros said.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, also a UP graduate, also said he will support the passage of the bill.

For his part, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque welcomed the proposal of some senators to institutionalize the accord between UP and the Defense Department.

"Sa akin po, that seems to be a reasonable proposal but that has to be enacted po into law," Roque, a UP alumnus and  former member of its faculty, said at a news conference.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the 1989 agreement was terminated for being "obsolete" as UP has become a "safe haven" for enemies of the state.

UP President Danilo Concepcion, on the other hand, called the termination unnecessary and unwarranted.

The university authorities expressed willingness to engage with the DND in a dialogue. Lorenzana said he was willing too, on the condition that UP explains why its students have been among those killed in state forces' encounters with communist New People's Army rebels. — RSJ, GMA News

 

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