Following the unilateral termination of the University of the Philippines-Department of National Defense (UP-DND) accord in 2021, UP units and colleges had established six partnerships with state forces.
Among the deals UP forged with state forces is the UP Declaration of Cooperation (DOC) with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Signed by UP President Angelo Jimenez on Aug. 8, the DOC aims to provide a framework for “possible collaborative projects and activities” with the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UP CIDS).
However, the DOC also included “personnel visits, exchanges, and research fellowships” of state forces in the campus, which Student Regent Francesca Duran pointed out as a threat to academic freedom due to the possibility of increased militarization within UP premises.
“Kung ang magi-influence sa pananaliksik ng UP ay ang AFP na alam natin na may track record ng pagva-violate ng karapatang pantao, parang questionable talaga kung kanino bang interest magse-serve ang UP at kung para saan ba natin ginagamit ‘yung kalayaang pang-akademiko natin,” she said in an online interview with Tinig ng Plaridel.
Despite resistance from the UP community, the Board of Regents (BOR), as the highest decision-making body of the UP system, remains mum amid the community’s call for its termination. Duran said the BOR refused to discuss the declaration in their official meetings.
Read: UP community bares risks of admin’s ‘declaration of cooperation’ with AFP
“Ang hinihiling namin [sectoral regents] ay mapakinggan at mabigyan ng bigat ‘yung insights ng major sectors within the university dahil there are many reasons why the Declaration of Cooperation is strongly condemned. Hanggang ngayon hindi nawawala ‘yung panawagan na i-terminate siya dahil we really feel unsafe with the presence of state forces,” said Duran.
Sectoral regents and student council alliances KASAMA sa UP and Defend UP Network also condemned the administration for failing to consult the UP community before signing the partnership in a joint statement posted a day after the declaration was publicized.
Likewise, the UP Diliman University Council (UPD UC) said the UP CIDS program convenors were also not consulted prior to the declaration’s signing. The UPD UC consists of faculty members holding rankings from assistant professor and higher.
UP President Angelo Jimenez, however, defended the declaration and claimed that it is “non-binding and exploratory” and provides a framework for the University to share knowledge “for security sector reform.”
More deals sealed with state forces
UP’s other partnerships include the renewal of the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) lease on the five-hectare Camp Caringal part of UP property. Prior to this, the said agreement is set to expire by the end of the year.
Its renewal includes establishing a new police precinct within the UPD premises on Katipunan Avenue and a satellite station in Pook Arboretum. The community residing in Arboretum had faced several demolition threats from the UP administration for the planned construction of UPD-Philippine General Hospital.
The agreement specifies that the PNP will “ensure police visibility” on UP campuses to “repress incidences of civil disturbances.” These terms will be in effect for 25 years, starting from its signing last September.
Defend UP Network condemned the agreement on Sept. 26, stressing that it would only heighten campus militarization.
“UP land and resources should be dedicated to research and public service goals of the university. PNP has everything to gain from the MOA [Memorandum of Agreement], while our students lack spaces for study and organizing, and colleges languish without proper facilities,” Defend UP Network’s statement reads.
Meanwhile, the UPD College of Engineering inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the PNP Directorate for Research and Development in June 2023. The memorandum dictates exchanging academic information and materials, lectures and symposia, student internships, professional development of technical staff, and “other activities as mutually agreed.”
Among the priority projects of MOU is the “enhancement of ballistic defense materials for the police force,” according to a press release published by the college. It is the Department of Mining Metallurgical, and Materials Engineering’s (DMMME) Materials Research and Development and Consulting Facility that will help in the said program.
DMMME Professor Eduardo Magdaluyo said that while discussions and trainings have been done, the said project has yet to launch due to a change in administration in the national security agency.
In the same year, the College of Dentistry of UP Manila (UPM) also entered a five-year agreement with AFP to train military and civilian dentists.
According to AFP’s website, the security institution supports the college’s dental community projects, offers employment options for UP dentistry graduates, and assists faculty and personnel’s application to the AFP Reserve Force in return.
The agreement, which was based on an original one that expired 10 years ago, drew flak from UPM constituents as it was signed without informing any student institutions, according to a Manila Collegian report.
The agreement also expands collaboration between UPM and AFP across various research fields, allowing graduating dental students from the College of Dentistry to join the armed forces as part of its regular force or as reservists in the dental department.
Meanwhile, in 2022, the UPD Department of History of the UPD College of Social Sciences and Philosophy co-published books on Philippine military history in collaboration with the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, an agency under the DND.
During the same year, UP Open University partnered with the PNP to launch the Police Open Academy, an online platform aimed to promote open and distance education in law enforcement.
These are the only partnerships with the national security agencies that were publicized.
Duran emphasized the need for mechanisms that would surface whether there are other existing partnerships that UP units engage in with state forces.
“[D]apat mababantayan natin kung ano ‘yung information na makukuha natin dahil nga kailangan din ma-put into light if mayroong mga cooperation na hindi pala alam ng kalakhan ng UP community,” she added.
Duran also called on her fellow regents to heed the demands of the UP community as these partnerships may amp up military and police presence on the campus, citing the incidents of military and police presence across different units.
“Until hindi na-memeet ‘yung demands ng community to terminate it [UP-AFP DOC] ay hindi mawawala ‘yung discussions, hindi mawawala ‘yung protests ng mga iba’t ibang sektor. Kaya we really are assertive that as long as hindi na siya nate-terminate, hindi tayo titigil to forward this call,” said Duran.
