MANILA, Philippines — The National Police Commission on Monday backed the interior department's proposal to scrap its deal with the University of the Philippines requiring police personnel to notify the institution before entering any of the university's campuses.
This comes after Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also abrogated his department's similar deal, prohibiting both police and military forces from carrying out warrants before doing the same.
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Napolcom vice chairman and executive officer Vitaliano Aguirre II was quoted in a report aired by DZMM TeleRadyo as saying that if it were up to him, the Department of the Interior and Local Government's 1992 deal with UP would also be terminated, adding that Lorenzana's decision was the right one.
Speaking at the PNP's flag-raising earlier Monday commemorating the agency's 30th anniversary, newly-minted Aguirre vowed to repay President Rodrigo Duterte for his trust and confidence in the recently-appointed chief.
“I commit all my God-given talents and abilities and even my sacred honor to live up to our dear President’s expectations. With the providence and guidance of the Almighty and the political will of our President, it can be done and it will be done,” he said.
“I cannot do it alone. I need the help and support of everyone. Can I trust you with this?” he also said in Filipino.
The DILG, under which the Napolcom and PNP are attached agencies, also called for a review of its own 1992 agreement with the premier state university.
“With the growth of the population within each campus, the current capability of the university’s police and firefighting forces must be assessed. Are they capable of carrying the responsibility of ensuring the safety and security of their students inside their campus?” DILG spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said in a statement.
“Upon the request of UP, we are open to a meeting. We really need to sit down and talk about many of the changes and problems inside UP. The bottom line is, and will always be, to ensure peace and security in the students and faculty of UP,” he also said in mixed Filipino and English.
Why does this matter?
- Peaceful protest actions and demonstrations are typically held within the UP Diliman campus
- The Commission on Human Rights, also a common site for protesters, is also within the campus' borders
- UP grounds have long been a safe haven for activists, as they cannot be arrested on school grounds
- With the agreement scrapped, police and military forces can freely enter campuses if they so desire
'Entry of PNP personnel on campus remains prohibited'
In a separate statement issued Monday, UP Los Baños Chancellor Jose Camacho, Jr. reminded authorities that while the DND accord had been terminated, the university's deal with the DILG remained in effect.
Thus, he said, police officers are still prohibited from entering the state university without notifying its administrators beforehand.
"The last time we checked, the 1992 DILG-UP Memorandum of Agreement is still in effect. Because of it, we would like to make one thing clear–the entry and presence of PNP personnel on campus remains prohibited except in hot pursuit operations and when their assistance is requested by the university. And we will always demand that this be respected," his statement read.
"We are one with the faculty, staff, and students in denouncing the abrogation of the UP-DND accord as we view it as an assault on the freedom of UP as the only declared national university in the country by law and not simply an institution of higher learning," it also said.
— Franco Luna