LIKE a thief in the night, proponents of House Bill 10171 have railroaded the passage of this bill seeking to institutionalize the agreement between the University of the Philippines (UP) and the Department of National Defense (DND), banning security forces from entering UP campuses. On paper it appears to be designed to protect UP and its pursuit of academic freedom; hence, the "UP Security Act" as its title. A cursory look at its provisions though would reveal that there is something sinister in this bill. Indeed, why would the sponsors attempt to pass this law free from scrutiny of the government, especially the sector in charge of security? Unsurprisingly, the bill is sponsored mostly by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) bloc as well as legislators trying to salvage whatever electoral support is left of this now disgraced Kamatayan alliance.
So, why UP? What is UP? And why does it think it is so important and exclusive that it needed a law to protect "their" academic freedom and not Bicol University or Ateneo for instance? Is it because of its claim that it remains the bastion of youth activism? Let's find out.
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