De la Peña, Dorothy Ann DS.

LS 1204- M2

Position Paper on the Unilateral Abrogation of the UP – DND Accord

On June 30, 1989, an agreement between the then- Defense Chief, Fidel V. Ramos
and then- UP President Jose Abueva. This Accord has been signed 14 days after an incident
of abduction of a staff of Philippine Collegian named Donato Continente on the night of June
16 at Vinzons Hall. He was tortured and forced to confess to the killings of Col. James Rowe.
The agreement stated the following agreements: 1. Prior Notification shall be given by the
commander of an AFP-, PC- INF or CAFGU intending to conduct any military or police
operations to any UP campuses in the Philippines; 2. Except in cases of hot pursuit and
similar occasions of emergency; 3. If in case that the UP officials seeks the assistance of the
AFP or PC- INP, “only uniformed member of the troops with proper identification” will be
allowed inside the campus; 4. The military and police shall not interfere with the peaceful
protest action by the UP constituents ; 5. Any search or arrest warrants on any students,
faculty, employee, or invited participant of the University in any official activity, the UP
administration shall be informed; 6. No UP student, faculty, or employee shall be subjected
to custodial investigation without prior notice.

However, in January 15, 2020 Sec. Delfin Lorenza of the DND (Department of
Defense announced that the UP- DND Accord was unilaterally revoked by the Department.
The decision according to Sec. Lorenzana, the State University is a haven of recruitment of
the Communist Party of the Philippines- New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) and uses the Accord
to shield their propaganda in recruiting the students for their cause. He added that the
revocation intends to intensify the national security of the country and this will not affect
the academic freedom nor t he freedom of expression of the students, faculty and activists
who wish to hold rallies inside the campuses of the State University.

But, does the unilateral abrogation of the UP- DND Accord helps to build trust
between the academic community and the government? In my opinion, it lessens the trust
of the academic community to the police and military in this sudden move of the
Department of Defense. The accord keeps the UP community safe from any allegations that
the department throws at. Before the abrogation of the accord, the spokesperson of the
task force to end local communist armed conflict since 2018 has been red tagging not just
the UP Community but other Universities and Colleges. He allges that