By ANNA FELICIA BAJO, GMA News
Published February 4, 2021 8:51am
Updated February 4, 2021 9:23am The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Thursday denied that it is the practice of the military to torture civilians, insisting that troops respect human rights in accordance to their mandate. The act that our soldiers are accused of is a serious allegation that is neither a policy nor a practice. As a matter of fact, AFP regulations mandate that we respect human rights and abide by the law of armed conflict, AFP spokesman Major General Edgard Arevalo said in a message to GMA News Online. Deinla had said two Aetas were supposedly tortured by government forces as a form of reprisal for the death of a soldier during an encounter with rebels in Zambales in August 2020.
AFP needs facts not hypotheticals on UP deal abrogation –professor
Published January 25, 2021 6:07pm A professor from the University of the Philippines Department of Political Science said Monday that the reasoning behind the termination of the University of the Philippines-Department of National Defense accord needs to be supported by facts, not hypotheticals. “Dapat kung sinasabi [ng Armed Forces of the Philippines] na ito ay empirical, dapat magbigay sila ng pruweba,” Prof. Jaime Naval said on Balitanghali. Earlier, military spokesman Major General Edgard Arevalo claimed that the UP-DND accord, which prevents the police and military from freely entering campus grounds, could hamper valid operations of state forces.
By NICOLE-ANNE C. LAGRIMAS, GMA News
Published January 22, 2021 11:02am The University of the Philippines (UP) pact with the Department of National Defense (DND) does not stand in the way of law enforcement, said the president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP). The U.P.-DND accord does not and should not not hinder legitimate law enforcement and security operations as the agreement specifically provides that nothing herein shall be construed as a prohibition against the enforcement of the laws of the land, IBP president Domingo Egon Cayosa said in a statement. He also cited UP s institutional autonomy as a national university under Republic Act 9500 or the UP Charter.
The longstanding 1989 accord between UP and the
Department of National Defense was suddenly terminated on January 15 via a letter to UP President
Danilo Concepcion, citing claims that the university became a hotbed for the recruitment of communist rebels.
The historic deal signed by then UP President
Jose Abueva and Defense chief
Fidel Ramos 30 years ago has prohibited state forces from entering UP campuses without the permission of the school administration.
Exceptions warranting state forces’ presence cover hot pursuit operations and similar emergency cases, and if UP officials requested their assistance.
In an effort to justify the abrupt gesture at a briefing on Wednesday, January 20, Maj. Gen.
Published January 20, 2021 8:30pm The Department of Chemical Engineering in the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman on Wednesday asked the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) not to make hypothetical statements “absent of any factual basis” following a controversial remark by the military spokesman. Earlier in the day, Major General Edgard Arevalo said the UP-Department of Defense (DND) accord, which prevents the military and police from freely entering campus grounds, could hamper valid operations of state forces. Paano na lamang po kung mayroong shabu laboratory, for instance, sa loob ng UP community or campus and then meron po tayong valid arrest warrant at search warrant?” he said in a news conference.