Creation of Academic Freedom Committee pushed anew
News Release
19 August 2023 [UPDATED]
Faculty Regent Carl Marc Ramota expressed grave concern over the series of surveillance operations in several campuses of the University of the Philippines (UP), calling for an “institutional response” from University authorities.
“There were six incidents of surveillance, and police and military operations in four campuses in August alone. It is an assault on academic freedom that warrants an institutional response from the University administration. The University of the Philippines must act to protect its faculty, staff, and students against all forms of intimidation and harassment,” Faculty Regent Ramota said.
Police drones flying over campuses
Drones were sighted hovering in UP Mindanao in Davao City, southern Philippines for two straight days, on August 18 and 19, during the General Assembly of Student Councils. Student leaders from different UP units gathered in Davao City to elect the new Student Regent, the sector’s representative to the highest policy making body of the University, the Board of Regents.
On August 4, a surveillance drone also crashed near Quezon Hall, the University’s main administrative building in UP Diliman in Quezon City, National Capital Region. University security personnel later on confirmed that it’s a police drone after members of the Quezon City Police District claimed the equipment.
It can be recalled that in February this year the same police unit took into custody Dr. Melania Flores, former president of the All UP Academic Employees Union, from her home inside the Diliman campus without proper coordination with University authorities. The court dismissed the charges against her the following month.
Unwanted police visits
On August 11, the police also went to the office of Dr. Raquel Fortun, chairperson of the Department of Pathology of the UP College of Medicine and one of the country’s leading forensic pathologists, in UP’s Manila campus. The visit came after Dr. Fortun released her findings on purported cases summary executions of Jerhode “Jemboy” Baltazar from Navotas, and Kian delos Santos from Caloocan in Metro Manila, both 17 years old. Baltazar was killed by the police this month due to “mistaken identity,” while Delos Santos was one of the victims of the “War of Drugs” of the Duterte administration in 2017.
On August 19, a police mobile car attempted to enter the UP Visayas Miag-ao campus in Iloilo province, central Philippines, claiming to inspect the ATM machine in the university.
“The police and military cannot just enter campuses out of whim. The 1992 agreement between UP and the Department of Interior and Local Government stipulates that there must be prior coordination with University authorities before the conduct of police and military operations in campuses,” Faculty Regent Ramota explained.
“It is alarming that the police and military can just enter our campuses with impunity. Police and military presence has a chilling effect and puts our faculty, students, and staff in harm’s way,” Regent Ramota pointed out.
Threats outside campuses disrupt academic work
Faculty Regent Ramota added that faculty, students, and staff are more vulnerable to intimidation and harassment from state security forces while conducting field work, practicum, and research in communities.
In July, students and faculty of UP Manila’s Development Studies program were forced to cut short their research and community work in San Francisco, Quezon, in Luzon, and pulled out of the area after being subjected to surveillance and harassment by members of the 85th Infantry Batallion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
“By mere affiliation to UP, our faculty, staff, and students are conveniently terror-tagged by state security forces. It endangers their lives and disrupts the teaching, research, and public service work of the University in communities where these are needed the most,” Regent Ramota said.
UP community calls for creation of Academic Freedom Committee
Faculty Regent Ramota said as early as April this year, various sectors and the University administration have engaged in a series of discussions on the creation of the UP Committee on the Promotion and Protection of Academic Freedom and Human Rights in response to these academic freedom violations. The Office of the UP President has yet to release the administrative order creating the said committee.
“The incidents alone this month should prompt the UP’s leadership to act with a sense of urgency. The University must not allow these attacks against our constituents to continue. The creation of the Committee on the Promotion and Protection of Academic Freedom and Human Rights at the level of the UP System and later on in all campuses, will provide the mechanism for monitoring and coordination, and legal and administrative aid to faculty, staff, and students in distress,” Faculty Regent Ramota conveyed.
The Faculty, Staff, and Student Regents, university unions, and student groups also launched an online campaign to support the creation of the said committee: https://bit.ly/ProtectAcadFreedom
#CreateAcadFreedomCommitteeNow#DefendAcademicFreedom#DefendHumanRights
#DefendUP