STUDENTS leaders at the University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu have raised alarm over alleged profiling and surveillance of campus activists, as well as increased military presence on university grounds.
In a letter dated Sept. 24, 2024 to UP Cebu’s Committee on the Protection and Promotion of Academic Freedom and Human Rights, the University Student Council (USC) detailed concerns about the targeting of specific student leaders, including chairpersons Grover Perez and Cleisteil Cimafranca, former vice chairman and 39th student regent nominee Bern Cañedo and College of Communication, Art and Design representative Cy Defunturom.
“We urge the committee to address the recent troubling incidents involving heightened militarization and the profiling of UP Cebu student leaders. These events are not just attacks on individual liberties but also a direct threat to the sanctity of academic freedom, free speech, and democratic rights,” the letter states.
The USC said two police and military vehicles were spotted during a martial law commemoration event on Sept. 20. This happened after the signing of a cooperation agreement between UP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Aug. 8.
Student organizations have been actively protesting the move.
UP Cebu’s student organizations held a protest against the agreement on Aug. 30, with students demanding that UP president Angelo Jimenez withdraw from the pact.
The student council’s letter emphasized the need to maintain the university as a safe space for free discourse and to protect students from intimidation and harassment. It called for immediate action to address the reported incidents and to uphold academic freedom on campus.
The controversy stems from concerns that the UP-AFP agreement could lead to increased militarization of UP campuses and compromise the university’s long-standing tradition of academic freedom and activism.
SunStar Cebu reached out to the Police Regional Office 7 for comment, but the latter did not respond as of 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 2. / CDF