After soldiers, QCPD cops spotted in UP campus

MANILA, Philippines - Two members of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) were monitored in the University of the Philippines (UP) campus in Diliman, exactly a week after military intelligence officers were apprehended for violating an agreement that prohibits the unauthorized presence of uniformed personnel in the university.

The police officers were seen in the campus on Wednesday night during a candle-lighting activity with hundreds of lumads who are holding a week-long camp-out at the university, according to UP student publication Philippine Collegian.

The Collegian reported that the officers, who were armed and in uniform, claimed that they were sent to get information about the event.

In a phone interview with The STAR, QCPD Station 9 commander Superintendent Wilson delos Santos said he has not issued any directive ordering any police officer to enter the campus.

Sought for an explanation on the police presence, he said the officers – who were on patrol – may have heard about the gathering and entered the university to investigate.

In its report, the Collegian said the police officers claimed they were not aware of an agreement between UP and the government that prohibits the entry of military and police personnel in any campus of the university without proper coordination.

Upon learning about the incident, Delos Santos said he immediately ordered the police to leave the university.

“I have reminded all of our personnel that we cannot just enter the campus because of the agreement,” he said in Filipino.

Last week, six intelligence officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) were taken into custody by the UP Diliman police due to suspicious activities in the campus.

UP Diliman chancellor Michael Tan expressed concern over the incident, stressing the 1989 agreement between then UP president Jose Abueva and then DND secretary Fidel Ramos.

In 1992, Abueva and then Interior secretary Rafael Alunan III signed another agreement to cover the PNP.

Apology not enough

On Tuesday, the AFP confirmed the presence of military officers in the campus as they are conducting a “legitimate national security operation.”

The military did not provide details of the operation, but stressed that university students and members of the UP faculty were not the subject of the operation.

The AFP said that the operation was properly coordinated with the QCPD, and that there was no intent to violate the agreement.

However, various members of the UP community said the apology was not enough.

Journalism professor Danilo Arao, in a Facebook post, expressed disappointment over the apology issued by the AFP over the incident as it failed to include a public admission that it violated the agreement.

He also urged the military to disclose the nature of the operation and identify the targets, noting that students and faculty are not the only members of the UP community.

“(The AFP should also explain) why the surveillance on campus happened in the days leading to Manilakbayan 2015,” he said, referring to the week-long camp-out of lumads at the university.

Local political party STAND UP also noted that the use of “legitimate operation” has been a convenient excuse for the AFP to violate the rights of people.

“When they kill civilians, they claim these as operations against rebels or criminals,” the group added.

The lumads, who have travelled to Manila all the way from Mindanao, are calling on the military to pull out troops from their schools and communities.