The level of security within the University of the Philippines in Diliman will have to be assessed following a reported increase in crime in its non-academic areas, an official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government on Tuesday said.
In a news release, DILG spokesperson Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said the influx of non-UP faculty, students and residents in portions of the UP campus that have been leased out to private developers such as UP Technohub and UP Town Center as well as the entry of thousands of informal settlers inside its property pose a problem for law enforcement.
“The non-academic areas in UP have increased through the years and crime has been increasing, thus we need to discuss ways on how we can maintain peace and order in those areas,” he said.
Malaya said officials from the DILG and UP would hold a meeting this week to discuss security within the UP property and to review their 1992 agreement.
“With the growth of the population within each campus, the current capability of the university’s police and firefighting forces must be assessed. Can they still hold on their responsibility in securing the campus?)” he said.
“Upon the request of UP, we are open to a meeting. We have to sit together and discuss this because UP is facing problems and changes. The bottomline is, and will always be, to ensure peace and security in the students and faculty of UP,” he added.
Malaya said the DILG would not unilaterally abrogate the agreement without consulting UP officials.
“Contrary to a report that came out in a broadsheet, the DILG wants to hold a dialogue with UP officials to revisit the 1992 agreement. For the record, what we said was that there is a need to review the 1992 agreement requiring the PNP to notify UP authorities before entering its campuses,” Malaya said.
He said they called for a meeting with UP officials in response to their request for a dialogue or meeting to address the concerns of the department in the spirit of justice, mutual trust, and the pursuit of excellence.
“The 1992 agreement, in fact, calls for regular meetings between the 2 parties to discuss the implementation of the accord. This meeting therefore is in keeping with agreement and is for the purpose of determining if the agreement is still relevant and serves to uphold public order and safety within UP campuses,” he added.
The UP-DILG Joint Monitoring Team has not met for years now contrary to Section 7 of the UP-DILG agreement which tasks the team to meet at least twice a year or as often as necessary.
Malaya said the dialogue is in keeping with the spirit of Senate Resolution 616 which urges a dialogue to promote peace and security in UP campuses.
He said they also intend to raise the matter of continued clandestine recruitment by the Communist Party of the Philippines and its front organizations of UP students which was the reason cited by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana when he abrogated the UP-DND agreement.
The 1992 UP-DILG agreement was signed by then UP President Jose Abueva and then DILG Secretary Rafael M. Alunan III after the enactment of Republic Act 6975 which effectively transferred the country’s police force from the DND to the DILG. The Philippine Constabulary-Integrated National Police, now Philippine National Police, was formerly under DND.
Since the police were transferred from the DND to the DILG in 1991, both parties signed the UP-DILG Agreement in 1992 with essentially the same contents as the 1989 UP-DND agreement.
Under both agreements, prior notification shall be given by a commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines or PNP unit intending to conduct any military or police operations in any of the UP campuses. They shall not also be allowed to enter the premises of the campuses without coordination with UP administration except in pursuit of cases and similar occasions of emergency, or in ordinary transit through UP premises.