UP, DILG agree to review 1992 accord

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the University of the Philippines (UP) on Monday said they agreed to review the 1992 security agreement to better address peace and security inside UP campuses without curtailing academic freedom and right to free speech and assembly.

In a statement, DILG Officer-in-Charge (OIC) and Undersecretary Bernardo Florece, Jr. said the meeting with UP officials was a welcome development as both parties agreed there is a need to review the 28-year-old pact to update it to present times.

“Our meeting with UP officials led by President Danilo L. Concepcion and UP Diliman Chancellor Fidel Nemenzo is a good start since both sides agree that both our agencies only have the best interests of the UP community in mind. Kami po sa DILG ay lubhang nagagalak sa development na ito,” Florece said.

He said that revisiting the provisions stated in the 1992 UP-DILG Agreement is important because while ‘it has served its purpose in the past, it now needs to be updated.’ He said that the agreement will be reviewed with the assurance that it will not, in any way, diminish basic rights and the freedom of speech and assembly in UP which are Constitutionally protected and enshrined.

The UP-DILG greement was meant to be an affirmation of the UP-DND agreement that was signed in 1989 between Abueva and then Defense Secretary Fidel Ramos.

Under both agreements, prior notification shall be given by a commander of an Armed Forces of the Philippines or PNP unit intending to conduct any operation in any of the UP campuses, except in cases of hot pursuit and similar emergencies, or in ordinary transit through UP premises.

The DILG suggested the creation of a Technical Working Group (TWG) composed of representatives of both parties which will undertake the review of the agreement and recommend whether to simply amend the 1992 agreement or come up with an entirely new agreement.

Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)