UP-DND ACCORD | Security pact between the military and the state university hurdles Congress first reading

June 2, 2021 , 09:57 PM

(June 2, 2021) – A proposal to institutionalize the security agreement between the country’s premier state university and the military was approved on Wednesday on its first reading at the lower house.

The new pact will include the decades-old agreement in the UP Charter approved through Republic Act 9500 in 2008. This accord was earlier rescinded by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana in January as security forces were barred from entering the University of the Philippines without prior notice.

The proposed bill strengthened the old pact and rejected concerns by the security sector.

Members of the House panel on higher and technical education rejected the “constitutional infirmities” raised by the Department of National Defense (DND) during the deliberations.

Lawyer Norman Daanoy, the defense department’s legal and legislative affairs official, said the measure could hamper the police function of serving warrants within UP.

He also echoed the government’s anti-communist rhetoric to defend their position against the UP-DND accord.

But lawyer Ted Te, who represented UP President Danilo Concepcion, said the measure is still consistent with the 1987 Constitution since the proposal does not prevent the police from serving warrants altogether.

“I am afraid that I would not be able to comment on the constitutional objections that Atty. Daanoy is thinking until we are aware of what they are,” Te said.

“Since all the substitute bill and the original bill seek to do is to incorporate the notice requirement—that is the essence of the two accords.”

Given the approval of the measure on the committee level, it will move forward to the plenary for further deliberations.

Senators have also filed a counterpart bill but it remains pending at the committee level.

Lawmakers wanted police and military presence to be restricted on any UP campus nationwide without prior notice to university officials to ensure that due process will be observed.

All police operations in the area should also be properly coordinated with the campus security group.

Persons caught violating any of the bill’s provisions could face administrative sanctions, based on the amendment forwarded by Kabataan Party-list Congresswoman Sarah Elago.

Te, for his part, suggested the university’s vice chancellor for community relations be included in the list to be notified to oversee the accord’s implementation, among others.

Elago welcomed the panel’s decision to approve the substitute bill, which could help uphold academic freedom in UP.

“Not only will this uphold the UP-DND accord in the UP Charter, it will also serve as a greater push for the police and military to enforce accountability among their ranks against a backdrop of worsening human rights violations and impunity in the country,” Elago said.

Defense chief Delfin Lorenzana had unilaterally terminated the 1989 UP-DND accord in January as he branded UP “a safe haven for the enemies of the state” despite lacking evidence. He also called the agreement obsolete.

Student groups lambasted Lorenzana and other security officials who supported the suspension of the accord in what many saw as an affront to academic freedom.

(Beatrice Puente/MM)

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