University of the Philippines (UP) faculty and employees revealed the agreement between the school and the military was made without consultation with and signed in secret.

The All UP Academic Employees Union (AUPAEU) in a press conference Wednesday, August 14, said university president Angelo Jimenez pushed through with secretly signing the UP-Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Declaration of Cooperation last August 8 “without consultation from the various UP sectors.”

The union said the deal is a threat to academic freedom.

“Is this really cooperation or collusion? Is this an issue of scholarship or intelligence work?” AUPAEU vice president for faculty Dr. Rommel Rodriguez said.

“Is this for the university and people or is this for those who violate human rights,” Rodriguez further asked.

Other UP community representatives also expressed alarm over the UP System administration’s dealings with the military, including University Council Committee on University Governance and Administration chairperson Prof. Danilo Arao, College of Arts and Letters Dean Dr. Jimmuel Naval, and student representatives of the school’s science and technology community.

UP justified the deal as an “initial framework” for future projects involving collaborative research, publications and capacity-building initiatives with the military.

In an earlier announcement, the country’s national university said key areas of cooperation include developing research projects, contributing to the Philippine Journal of Public Policy by the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UP CIDS), and enhancing submissions to the Quarterly Digest of AFP’s Office of Strategic Studies and Strategy Management (OSSSM).

AUPAEU however pointed out that the Jimenez administration has refused to cooperate with various sectors in the university in promoting academic freedom, instead ignoring the demand to form the UP Committee on the Protection and Promotion of Academic Freedom and Human Rights.

“We want this committee formed with the support of constituent universities in UP Diliman, UP Manila, UP Los Banos, UP Cebu and this is also being pushed by the University Council in UP Visayas and UP Mindanao,” Rodriguez said.

“We wish to emphasize that the Jimenez has also refused to unite with the UP community regarding this,” Rodriguez added.

The speakers demanded that Jimenez protect academic freedom and civil liberties of UP students, faculty, staff and other members of the community in addition to junking the declaration.

They asked that Jimenez take an active role in defending UP community members from red-tagging, vilification and harassment.

Just last week, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa red-tagged UP student organizations and institutions, baselessly accusing them of “recruiting” for the armed insurgency.

The speakers also called on other members of the UP community to stand united in defense of academic freedom and unite in calling for the UP System administration to withdraw from the agreement with the AFP. # (Raymund B.Villanueva)