University of the Philippines: Hallmark of Academic Freedom, Honor and Excellence

By: Ryan Tejero

 

Following the unilateral abrogation of the 1989 Accord between the University of the Philippines (UP) and the Philippine National Defense Department, UP has become the subject of controversial issues back home. While there are many alumni chose to be discreet about their stance on this issue, there is no doubt that there are many more who consider the issue as an assault to the ideals that UP stands for.

In a released statement on January 19, UP President Danilo Concepcion said “The University of the Philippines is, has always been and will continue to remain a safe space for free thought and expression, intelligent criticism and dissent. This, too, is in accordance with the law of the land.” The call for members of the UP community to take a stand was inevitable. In a released statement on January 26 by the UP Diliman Executive Committee, he said “We enjoin our students, faculty, staff, residents and alumni to lend their voices in opposing this latest attack on our university.”

The call for support from UP Alumni here in America was not ignored. Statements on the impact of academic freedom and the pursuit for honor and excellence have been loudly echoed.

UP Alumnus from Dallas, TX, Carlos Cuyugan completed his degrees in BA Speech and Drama and MA in Speech Communication. He became an Assistant Professor at the UP Department of Speech Communication and Theater Arts in UP Diliman (1988-1999). He said “This has been an age old issue between UP and the government. My opinion is that UP should remain autonomous in all aspects, more so with the military affairs. UP is an educational institution, and a symbol of freedom of speech. I spent all my younger years in UP – from Kindergarten all the way to Master’s Degree, and I taught there for 11 years, and the only radical group I could name that was very vocal about government would be the League of Filipino Students.”

The UP Alumni Association of Greater Chicago President, a Business Economics alumnus from UP Diliman, Leo Madanguit said “Because of academic freedom, UP Alumni are able to contribute not only to the Philippines, but to the world at large through pioneering research, exemplary education, and outstanding professional resource. It is the same academic freedom of UP that empowered alumni organizations to build a strong network overseas, and to respond to numerous calls for help during tragedies and calamities in the Philippines and in their own communities.”

For UP Alumni Association in America President Daisy Rodriguez, who is a UP alumna based in San Francisco, CA said “As a foreign-based nation-wide organization of UP Alumni striving to unify UP alumni in the United States and other countries, we provide the anchor upon which alumni living in foreign lands from the diaspora of the past, can look for unity and collaboration. It is therefore with alarm that we see the insidious threat to the independence and leadership of the University in promoting academic freedom in other institutions of learning all over the country. We need the UP youth to go boldly into the future to shape our nation as leaders that the country needs them to be. We need the faculty to continue molding there young minds in the tradition of our heroes on the past and become leaders of tomorrow.” Mrs. Rodriguez completed her BS in Nursing and Master’s in Nursing, both degrees from UP Manila.

In the Midwest, 2019 UPAAA’s Most Distinguished Alumni in Mass Communication, Veronica Leighton, said “UP has been a breeding ground of alumni who turned out to be professionals with excellent credentials in their various fields.” Ms. Leighton has been the executive producer of Chicago Philippine Reports TV (CPRTV–the only locally produced Filipino TV show in Chicago & Midwest) and the publisher/chief editor of the award-winning Via Times Newsmagazine, a print magazine for “Filipino American Lifestyle and Culture in the Greater Chicago Area,” for almost four decades. She has also produced the established Filipino institution of “The Chicago Filipino Asian American Hall of Fame”, for honoring the achievements of the outstanding Filipinos, Filipino Americans and Friends in Chicago and throughout the world for the last 25 years.

Official Statement of the UP Alumni Association, January 25, 2021, signed and authorized for circulation by its President Reynaldo Laserna. U.P. ALUMNI ASSOCIATION DECRIES DND’S UNILATERAL TERMINATION OF 1989 ACCORD WITH U.P.

We, the University of the Philippines Alumni Association (UPAA) officers and members, express our collective dismay and dissent to the unilateral abrogation of the 1989 agreement between the Department of National Defense and the University of the Philippines.

The accord ensured that members of the student body, faculty, and staff of U.P., the country’s national university, could fully enjoy their right to free expression in the U.P. campuses without interference or censure by the police and military. Under the agreement, prior notification shall be given to the U.P. administration by the military or police before they could conduct any operations inside the U.P. campuses, and except in cases of hot pursuit and similar occasions of emergency, no military or police shall enter the premises of the UP campuses.

The agreement was conceived and concluded in good faith by both parties to foster harmonious and peaceful relations in protecting academic freedom – the very wellspring and essence of the university’s existence. The one-sided cancellation of the 1989 accord violates established norms in a society that respects the sanctity of contracts. DND ignored and disregarded basic courtesies – there was no notification or consultation before taking action on a mutually agreed accord. Communication is the basis of understanding. Unfortunately, no prior communication transpired. The UPAA alumni members, many of whom are parents themselves, are equally concerned as the authorities about the well-being and future of the students in the university. Thus, we urge the concerned government authorities and the U.P. administration to commence dialogue towards a viable and mutually acceptable solution without further escalation of rhetoric and emotions.

About the Artwork: “Barikada” created by Toym Leon Imao, BS Architecture alumnus and Professor, UP Diliman.