(UPDATED) Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Wednesday, January 20, 2021, said he is open to a dialogue with the University of the Philippines (UP) administration, but the latter must first explain why some of its students and alumni ended up with the communist New People’s Army (NPA).
“Yes, I am open to a dialogue with them...I am willing to talk to (them) pero, sagutin muna nila kung bakit namatay itong mga taong ito na kasama ng NPA (but they must explain why these people died with the NPA). These are all... This is a list of students of UP from all UP campuses na namatay during encounters with the armed forces,” he said, as he showed a list that contains the names and photos of UP students and alumni who were killed during clashes between the state forces and the NPA. The NPA is the armed unit of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
“Explain to me bakit nangyari ‘to sa kanila (why this happened to them). Why did they fail to protect these young kids from joining this organization and then they get killed?” he added.
On Lorenzana’s list are the names of 17 UP students who were killed during police and military operations against the communist rebels from 1975 to 2020. Among them were: