(Eagle News) — Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Tuesday, January 19, defended his decision to terminate an agreement with the University of the Philippines that requires government security troops to notify UP officials prior to their operations inside the campus.
In defending his move, Lorenzana noted that the agreement forged in 1989 had become “obsolete” and that “times and circumstances have changed..”
He noted UP “has become the breeding ground of intransigent individuals and groups whose extremist beliefs have inveigled students to join their ranks to fight against the government” and has become a “safe haven for enemies of the state.”
Lorenzana clarified that there was no intent to put up military or police outposts inside UP campuses “nor suppress activist groups, academic freedom and freedom of expression.”
He urged the UP community to “work together to protect our students from extremism and destructive armed struggle.”
He said the DND will “not tolerate those who will violate the laws of the land in the guise of lawful public dissent, free assembly and free speech.”
In a letter addressed to the DND chief, UP president Danilo Concepcion urged Lorenzana to “reconsider and revoke your abrogation,” noting that it was “totally unnecessary and unwarranted.”
He said the move “may result in worsening rather than improving relations between our institutions, and detract from our common desire for peace, justice, and freedom in our society.”
“Perhaps this will be a good opportunity to emphasize that we sought and secured that agreement not to evade or weaken the law, but to protect the climate of academic freedom—guaranteed by the Constitution—that makes intellectual inquiry and human and social advancement possible,” he added.
The pact was signed on June 30, 1989 by then-UP president Jose Abueva and then-Defense Chief Fidel Ramos.