ni Ronalyn Seminiano Reonico | January 19, 2021
Dinepensahan ni Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana ang desisyon na putulin na ang “long-time agreement” ng naturang ahensiya sa University of the Philippines (UP) na pagbabawal sa pagpasok ng state forces sa mga campuses nang walang koordinasyon sa unibersidad dahil ito umano ay naging “safe haven for the enemies of the state.”
Paliwanag ni Lorenzana sa naturang termination of agreement, “The agreement has become obsolete. The times and circumstances have changed since the agreement was signed in 1989, eight years after the martial law ended. The agreement was a gesture of courtesy accorded to UP upon the University’s request.”
Aniya pa, ang UP umano ay naging “breeding ground of intransigent individuals and groups whose extremist beliefs have inveigled students to join their ranks to fight against the government. “The country’s premier state university has become a safe haven for enemies of the state.”
Ayon sa sulat ni Lorenzana kay UP President Danilo Concepcion, nakasaad na ang desisyong pagputol sa kasunduan ay dahil sa mga natanggap nilang ulat na may mga komunistang nanghihikayat diumano sa mga estudyante ng naturang unibersidad na sumapi sa kanila.
Noong November, 2020, pinabulaanan ni UP Vice-President for Public Affairs Dr. Elena Pernia ang mga alegasyong ito.
Samantala, pahayag pa ni Lorenzana, "The Department of National Defense only wants what is best for our youth. Let us join hands to protect and nurture our young people to become better citizens of our great nation.”