House committee OKs bill on institutionalizing UP-DND accord
MANILA, Philippines — A House panel on Wednesday approved a substitute bill that would institutionalize the nixed accord between the University of the Philippines and the Department of National Defense.
Members of the Committee on Technical and Higher Education earlier today voted to send to the chamber a proposed bill that consolidates three other measures for the matter.
Signed in 1989, the accord was cut by the DND in January this year on unproven claims that UP has become a breeding ground for the armed communist movement.
The said deal bars entry to state forces in any of its campuses without prior notifying school administrators. The termination was severely criticized, and groups warned that it would threaten academic freedom and shrink spaces for expressing dissent.
A central issue during the hearing was supposed questions on the bill's legality, as brought up by lawyer Norman Daanoy, DND's chief of legal affairs.
Citing a meeting of the Cabinet's security cluster, he said the Department of Justice and the Solicitor General have reservations on the proposed measure.
"If a judge issues a warrant of arrest, do we need to have many conditions for its implementation?" Daanoy said in Filipino. "You can't pass a law providing limitations or condition on the enforcement of a warrant of arrest."
Lawyer Theodore Te was in the hearing to represent UP President Danilo Concepcion. Asked to comment, he said he believes there are no constitutional infirmities in the bill, as it only seeks to incorporate versions of the accord that have long been signed in the past.
"I do not believe there should be any constitutional objection on that point because that is simply part and parcel of due process," Te, a former Supreme Court spokesman said. "It is also part and parcel of ensuring academic freedom and institutional autonomy."
Te's position was backed by Rep. Mark Go (Baguio City), who chairs the committee, and Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (Cagayan de Oro), who is also a constitutional expert.
Go has directed both UP and the DND to submit a written position paper on the proposed measure.
Among other things in the hearing was the push for administrative sanctions on those who would violate the accord, as recommended by Rep. Sarah Elago (Kabataan Party-list).
Deliberations for institutionalizing the crucial accord began in mid-May. UP officials and student leaders had stressed the need for this to guarantee academic freedom and students' protection in campus.
"Those accords are the government's formal declaration that [it] guarantees the enjoinment by UP of its academic freedom," said Concepcion in a May 17 hearing. "Without academic freedom, UP's existence becomes meaningless."
A similar measure filed in the Senate remains pending. — Christian Deiparine
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