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Heated argument erupts between UP supporters, critics

Supporters and critics of the University of the Philippines engaged in a heated argument at UP Diliman on Tuesday over the termination of the decades-old agreement between the university and the Department of National Defense.

According to Super Radyo dzBB’s Glen Juego, the argument was between members of the UP community and the League of Parents of the Philippines, who expressed support for the termination of the UP-DND accord that required state forces to notify UP officials before conducting operations inside campus.

The LPP said the move will put a stop to issues of recruitment of students into the communist movement.

The pact was unilaterally terminated

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by the DND on January 18, with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana claiming that communists were recruiting students inside UP campuses.

UP leaders said the cancellation of the agreement threatens the freedom that has made the university a safe space for activism for decades. They assert that academic freedom is a right guaranteed by the Constitution.

Critics have repeatedly called out the military and anti-communist insurgency task force officials for accusing individuals, organizations and institutions of having communist links.

Senators have filed a bill seeking to institutionalize the UP-DND accord to uphold academic freedom. —Ma. Angelica Garcia/KBK, GMA News