CHR: Right to academic freedom of UP, higher learning institutions must be protected

The academic freedom of the University of the Philippines (UP) and the rest of higher learning institutions in the country is a right that must be upheld and defended at all times, the Commission on Human (CHR) Rights said.

The CHR issued the statement in response to the Department of National Defense’s unilateral termination of its 1989 accord with UP which bans the presence of police and military in the UP campus without prior notice.

The CHR cited that Article 14, Section 5 of the Philippine Constitution guarantees academic freedom to higher learning institutions to prevent state-backed repression.

“Ang UP-Department of National Defense (DND) Accord ay isang kasunduan na nagbibigay proteksyon sa mga estudyante mula sa presensya at supresyon ng pulis at militar sa mga kilos-protesta’t malayang pagpapahayag ng opinyon tungkol sa mga pambansang isyu sa loob ng campus. Bilang isang pampublikong akademikong institusyon, mahalagang napapanatili ang pagkakaroon ng academic freedom sa loob ng mga UP campuses, labas sa pangamba ng anumang uri ng represyon mula sa Estado,” the CHR said.

Further, the CHR said UP has provided refuge for students activists who have been subjected to state-led violence, including during the Martial Law regime of dictator President Ferdinand Marcos.

“Napatunayan na sa iba’t ibang yugto ng ating kasaysayan, lalo na noong panahon ng martial law, na ang UP campuses ang naging kanlungan ng mga kabataan mula sa iba’t ibang porma ng karahasan laban sa mga sumasalungat sa polisiya ng pamahalaan.

“Iginigiit ng CHR na kailangang madepensahan at mapangalagaan ang kaligtasan at akademikong kalayaan ng mga miyembro ng IP community batay na rin sa mga prinispyong pangkarapatang pantaong isinusulong ng UP-DND Accord,” the CHR added.

Defense Chief Delfin Lorenzana called the accord obsolete, saying that UP has since become a breeding ground for communist armed groups, if not a safe haven for the enemies of the state.

Lorenzana, however, did not specify how such recruitment is happening since there have been no face-to-face classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020.—LDF, GMA News