The Department of National Defense has unilaterally ended a three-decade-old agreement with the University of the Philippines that protects the campuses from entrance of the police and military without notifying school officials.
Once again, the government cited the supposed “clandestine recruitment” of students in communist organizations,
In a letter, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana informed UP President Danilo Concepcion that the UP-DND accord was “terminated or abrogated” as of January 15, 2021. He said this was done so they could perform their mandate to protect the youth from CPP-NPA recruitment activities.
“This Department is aware that there is indeed an ongoing clandestine recruitment inside UP campuses nationwide for membership in the CPP/NPA and that the ‘Agreement’ is being used by the CPP/NPA recruiters and supporters as a shield or propaganda so that government law enforcers are barred from conducting operations against the CPP/NPA,” the letter read.
