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Lawmakers say universities should be military-free zones
Philippines lawmakers have said that the protection of the University of the Philippines from military and police operations on campus should be enshrined in law and that this protection should be extended to all the country’s public universities and colleges.
A raft of bills to that effect has been tabled by opposition politicians in the country’s parliament in recent weeks.
Philippines congresswoman Sarah Elago this week tabled a resolution calling on the House of Representatives to ensure that schools and universities in the country are ‘zones of peace’ that are “free from police and military presence, intervention, harassment and intimidation”.
Jamela Alindogan reports from Manila on the attack on academic freedom. Video: Al Jazeera
Teachers and students in the Philippines are angry over the decision to allow military forces to enter the top state university. The 1989 deal was put in place to protect students from the warrantless arrests and constant surveillance by police and military forces that were common during the 1970s era of martial law.
Mel Sta Maria at Rappler analyses the crisis.
ANALYSIS:
By Mel Sta Maria in Manila
Because of the controversy resulting from the unilateral termination by the Defence Department (DND) of the University of the Philippines (UP) and the DND’s accord limiting the entry of security personnel inside UP, Commission of Higher Education (CHED) chair J. Prospero de Vera was quoted in news reports as saying a “panel of education experts will define the meaning of academic freedom and the role of security forces in the protection of academic freedom and the welfare of students.”
Tonyo Cruz
These times, one may think that the idea that “civilian authority is, at all times, supreme over the the military” is no longer relevant or fashionable, considering the growing role of retired and active generals in our national life.
In this time of rampant red-tagging, some might even go as far as claiming that that idea of civilian supremacy over the military is an activist, radical, socialist, or communist belief. But the thing is, it is a principle contained in the Constitution, the same Constitution that the military and civilian officials swear to obey, defend, and uphold.
In most democracies, military officials refuse to be dragged into overt political issues, especially partisan ones. In fact, in most jurisdictions, they are prohibited by law and by tradition from engaging in politics, because they are the armed forces of the republic or commonwealth that established it not of any party, prime minister, or president. Their loyalty is to the constitution,
Published February 4, 2021, 10:33 PM
Not minding the distance and the coronavirus disease pandemic, a mother from Metro Manila flew all the way to this city upon learning that her daughter who joined the communist rebel movement has been sighted in the hinterlands of Davao de Oro and Davao Oriental.
(photo from PNA)
Luisa Espina, the mother of Louvaine Erika, who was recruited by the New People’s Army (NPA) in 2018, said she decided to personally come to the city after confirming from a former rebel that her youngest daughter has been seen wandering with a band of rebels in the two provinces.