More than 200 individuals converged at the University of the Philippines (UP)-Diliman, Quezon City on January 19 to denounce the unilateral termination of the UP-Department of National Defense (DND) accord by DND Sec. Delfin Lorenzana. The said accord prohibits the entry of police and military forces in the campus without due permission from university administrators.

The maneuver aims to allow the military to intervene in UP which has long drawn the ire of the regime. This violates academic freedom and shrinks the democratic space in the campus. Soldiers can now freely roam around campuses empty of students with the implementation of the online learning system.

In a show of force, the military brazenly entered UP Diliman the next day. Duterte’s minions in congress now aim to also abrogate a similar agreement between the DND and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

To oppose these attacks, students must bravely defend the universities by holding assemblies in campuses to manifest their resistance.