Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) students and organizations condemned the university administration for signing a “declaration of cooperation” with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). The group One Big Fight for Human Rights and Democracy (OBFHRD) led the denouncement of the agreement, calling it a violation of democratic and academic freedom principles.

Representatives of the AFP and ADMU signed the agreement on September 19. The accord reportedly aims to push “initiatives to support the development of leadership and capability within the military.” It also states that the two institutions will collaborate “to promote peace and national progress.” The AFP’s Office for Strategic Studies and Strategy Management and the Ateneo School of Government will lead the program.

“We have no faith in the AFP’s ability to resolutely uphold peace and development in our nation,” OBFHRD stated. According to the group, this military intervention in ADMU clearly forms part of the Marcos regime’s National Action Plan for Unity, Peace, and Development (NAP-UPD), which is tightly linked to the counter-insurgency campaign.

The group explained that the partnership may initially appear harmless, but its implications and concrete manifestations for “counter-insurgency” severely contradict democratic and academic freedom principles, as well as the life, liberty, and security of students.

The National Task Force-Elcac is the AFP’s close partner in implementing the NAP-UPD. “[The NTF-Elcac] has a long track record of human rights violations against civilians, ranging from red-tagging, surveillance, physical and verbal harassment, assault, illegal arrest, enforced disappearance, and extrajudicial political killing,” OBFHRD said.

The AFP and NTF-Elcac are notorious for red-tagging sectoral mass organizations whenever they hold “counter-terrorism forums” inside universities and schools. “This creates a repressive and suppressive effect on activism and free expression,” the group added.

Within the Ateneo System itself, the military and NTF-Elcac have already conducted a series of activities where they red-tagged progressive organizations. The AFP and NTF-Elcac also use these “collaborations” within the Ateneo System to normalize military presence in campuses.

Among these activities is a “field trip” in January 2024 where the AFP brought students from Ateneo Senior High School to Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal. Other activities include forums organized by the NTF-Elcac with paid “former rebels” at Ateneo de Davao University in October 2024 and again in September.

According to OBFHRD, these cases of Red-tagging and harassment by the AFP directly attack academic freedom and democratic rights of free expression. “They are proof of the plain truth that entrenchment of the AFP in academic institutions serves to silence youth and academics, disincentivize critical political discourse, and sow division among University constituents,” the group stated.

Faced with these risks, the group called on the ADMU administration to terminate the declaration of cooperation with the AFP. OBFHRD also urged student councils and other organizations to support their stand and resist AFP intervention on campus.