Kapamilya actor Enchong Dee took a swipe at the government via his Twitter account.
In relation to the government’s decision to terminate the UP-DND Accord, an agreement which bars police and military inside the University of the Philippines campuses, Enchong pointed out the government’s cowardice to face criticism, especially from those who are very vocal against them.
On his Twitter, the actor wrote that the government is afraid of people revolting and that those in power are desperate to hold on to it.
https://twitter.com/enchongdee777/status/1351421846013399040?s=20
Enchong expressed his support for the university’s fight against the government’s decision. He liked and retweeted several tweets sharing their opinion regarding the matter.
He liked the UP Office of the Student Regent’s tweet encouraging fellow Filipinos to defend academic freedom.
Defend academic freedom! Defend our freedom to think, to be critical, to serve the people. STAND AND FIGHT! pic.twitter.com/r8ZUKp28d4
— UP Office of the Student Regent (@uposr) January 18, 2021
He retweeted Department of Education’s Executive Assistant Raffy Magno who resented the government’s oppression towards women, activists, and now students.
https://twitter.com/raffymagno/status/1351364233703821313
The actor also retweeted former member of the Regional Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Samira Gutoc’s tweet expressing her concern towards the imminent restriction of academic freedom.
Nakakalungkot at nakakatakot ang ginawang unilateral termination ng UP-DND accord by Sec Delfin Lorenzana.
Ang pagkawala ng kasunduang ito ay naglalagay sa alanganin di lamang sa ating mga estudyante ngunit para na rin sa malaya at kritikal na pag-iisip. pic.twitter.com/EKqlWgMxRR
— Samira Gutoc (@GutocSamira) January 19, 2021
The start of it all
Last Friday, January 15, the Department of National Defense, in a letter, stated that it has terminated its long-time agreement with the University of the Philippines regarding a deal that state forces should notify first the UP administration before conducting any operations.
This was confirmed by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana as he informed UP President Danilo Concepcion regarding the abrogation of the 1989 agreement.
Pres. Rodrigo Duterte likewise backed up the Defense secretary as per Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque’s statement that Lorenzana is the President’s “alter-ego”.
It can also be recalled that the president threatened to defund the university after it called for an academic strike against the government’s alleged negligence in responding to the COVID-19 situation.
He also accused UP of being a recruiting ground for the New People’s Army, a communist group. However, the university’s administration denied such allegation.
Termination wrong on so many levels
The University of the Philippines has been known to foster academic excellence, freedom and human rights, nationalism and development, and progressive thinking. It is also popular for being the center of student activism and dissent.
Student activists residing in the university heavily criticized the current administration for its many failures. They have been red-tagged continuously, with the government accusing them as members of the communist group New People’s Army (NPA).
The students and their freedom of speech were safeguarded from government pressure via the agreement which states they couldn’t operate inside the university’s campuses without prior notification unless there is an emergency situation. With the abolition of the accord, this gives the police and military to do what they do best—red-tagging without proof.
The only thing preventing these forces from conducting warrant or warrantless searches or arrests is gone. The haven which the students of the prestigious university is now destroyed, their safety at risk.
Even the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) felt that this move by the government is a “death signature to the long-standing resistance of the UP community.”
In a statement, they said that this is the government’s means to silence their critics.
“Clearly, these grounds to terminate UP-DND accord are not only desperate measures of the current administration in silencing critical voices of dissent but damages the integrity of the University of the Philippines, an institution that has produced generations of ‘iskolar ng bayan’ ready to enter the crucible of service to the Filipino people,” said the CEGP.
PUP-DND at risk as well
With the recent abrogation of the UP-DND accord, Duterte Youth Partylist Rep. Ducielle Cardema also wants the PUP-DND agreement be terminated as well.
Cardema, who serves as the vice-chairperson of the House committee on national defense and security said that PUP-DND’s accord should also be revoked in order to avoid “inequality”.
“As Vice-Chairperson of the House Committee on National Defense & Security, I call on the DND to also cancel its similar PUP-DND accord…”, Cardema said.
She also claimed that these agreements between the DND and the state universities were being abused.
“Itong UP-DND Accord & PUP-DND Accord ay klarong-klaro na special treatment na inabuso na, sa tagal ng panahon,” Cardema said in a statement.
However, she insisted that their call is not in any way “red-tagging.”
She also added that the abuse on the UP-DND Accord by the leftist groups should be put to stop as they have “information” that the university’s campuses are the recruiting grounds by NPA.
“The UP-DND Accord was used to uphold academic freedom but these leftist groups have abused it to shield them so that the government and our government troops cannot arrest them for their seditious acts including their visiting NPA comrades who have long used their campuses as recruiting grounds for several Filipino Youth to become NPA Fighters”, she said.
