Sleeplessly yours,
(This is just my Online Studying output task from my Rizal units. Pero legit at totoong poot from this administration )
PETITION TO THE PRESIDENT AGAINST HIS POLITICAL PERSECUTION AND FOR CIRCUMVENTING THE PHILIPPINE LAWS OF BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS AND ACADEMIC FREEDOM.
President Rodrigo Duterte
Malacañan Palace Compound
J. P. Laurel St., San Miguel, Manila
The Philippines
Subject: Petition to reverse the action of the Department of National Defense inline with the abrogation of DND-UP Agreement signed and endorsed by Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana.
Dear President Duterte,
As a currently enrolled student of Polytechnic University of the Philippines that enjoys the similar DND agreement between University of the Philippines and Department of National Defense and as an active participant and agent of our democratization and to show my fire blazing support to the progressive groups and institutions in our community longing for the united goal of building a peaceful, just and humane society as enriched in the 1987 Constitution Preamble, I am writing this letter to you to voice out my personal demand to reverse the action of the Department of National Defense signed by Sec. Delfin Lorenzana that unilaterally terminating/ abrogating the UP-DND ACCORD "Agreement" and the scheming termination of PUP-DND ACCORD. The Letter from the department signed by Sec. Lorenzana, my positions in this matter and valid legal documents pointing out recommendations are attached with this paper to uphold our Academic Freedoms in following reasons: A. To protect the institutional autonomy of both university in the governance of its own affair and its responsibilities to mainatain the proper behavior and conduct of all of its members in community. B. To ensure the safeguards of due process and to avoid unlawful arrest and seizure by prohibiting any police operation or ordinary transits inside the campus and its premises without prior coordination with or as requested by university authorities. C. Ensure the progressive and scientific learning of the students and their teachers without millitary' s intimidation and to protect their rights to exercise freedom of expressions, freedom of assembly, freedom of association and self-determination under the bounds of law enshrined in the Constitution.
We write to you with specific recommendation of actions that possess important implications in securing the basic human rights and academic freedoms of the both universities that traditionally practicing critical, scientific and helpful evaluation and analysis in every action and obligations of the government and its agencies. Citing the red-tagging and wire-tapping incidents against private individuals and groups in the academe and other extremely concerning reports such as extrajudicial and summary killings, the lack of accountability for abuses by the security forces, the mistreatment of the military forces against indigenous peoples, ethnic and religious minorities, numerous reports of gender discrimination by officers, molestations against womens and children, and other undocumented abuses of authorities, it is true and obviously clear that terminating the DND agreement between this two democratic and very liberated institutions will just compromise the safe heaven of the students and individuals who just wanted to practice their rights and express their selves while still being bounded by the laws and regulations of the University and bounded as well to our statutory laws and supreme law of the land.
In reply to their (DND's) definition of Academic Freedom, limiting its significance into: A. Freedom of choosing instructors. B.Freedom of choosing subjects, units and course program C. Freedom in instructions method. D. Freedom of Expression, or choosing what to teach. I argue that this definition of Academic freedom is not sufficient justification to unilaterally abrogate the UP-DND and PUP-DND Accord. I strongly believe that to fully understand the concept of academic freedom as pure with the context of the most active and critical academic institutions in our country we must first carefully look and analyze within their historical and present tradition of activism. In relation to the signficance of Academic Freedom and Historical experience from this institutions I want to cite the same sentiments incapsulated from the Commission of Human Rights Letter on August 2016.
As president, it is your responsibility to protect the universal rights and freedoms of all Filipinos. You wield great influence in ensuring that security forces respect and enforce the rights and freedoms embodied in both the Philippine constitution as well as international human rights instruments. What you say in support of rights and freedoms can have significant influence around the country. That is why in this letter we want to remind you that we are encouraged by your June 30 inauguration address pledge that your “adherence to due process and the rule of law is uncompromising” and from that you will ensure“the Republic of the Philippines will honor treaties and international obligations”and other alike agreements that protects the basic rights of your citizens. We also note that in your July 25 State of the Nation Address you stated that “rule of law must at all times prevail” and that government is obliged to “fulfill the human rights of our citizens.”It is also true, that unlike other universities UP and PUP enjoys the freedom and autonomy that other universities lacking until now. However, if we logically assess this justification of Sec.Lorenzana some of us may realize that maybe it is more appropriate to strengthen the concept of academic freedom and autonomy in this time of crisis to ease the pain, suffering and dismay of our society to our supposed to be protectors of rights and country. Starting by conducting a series of proper forum and dialogues between all representative with their valid grievances and by uniting all university admin and students representative in the Philippines to talk about the essential role of PNP and AFP in accordance and as defined with our 1987 Constitution. This is only if, there is a real and existing national security risk which implies a necesity to frame out more detailed agreements and manifesto in lined with university's and student's demands while maintaining the mutual respects from each duty to uphold the full and pure function of laws, from this we will all benefit from the fruits of our sacrifices and services to our nation and will enjoy the more scientific and progressive notion of nationalism.
With all of these considerations, we urging you and your government to make these issues a priority and do as well to our pandemic exit plans. The effects of our recommendations on this subject might not be able realized at our time but from this point in our history this democratic dialogues and forums will set the nations narrative of nation building which ensures long term success and effects to our country and to our postive values. It will also serves as a best practice to settle and fix grievances between government institutions aside from the PD 242 that might use for administrative adjudication. It will help to promote healthy academic environment and promote the patriotic sense of all students in our country by teaching them the value of loyalty to their Alma Matter and defending their University's goals and visions.
Positions:
1. I believe that UP-DND accord "agreement" like other contract under our obligations and contracts law should be respected and managed by the both or "mutually" by the party or by all the parties involved in accordance to its purpose and function.
2. I acknowledge the population of the communities involve and affected in the agreement, ergo the action of terminating this safeguard agreement needs reasonable evidence and procedures under the rule of law before taking up any action that might induce chilling effect to those parties involved and concerned in the agreement.
3. Scraping the UP-DND accord as well in the PUP might intensifies the conflicts between institutions (namely the academic and military institutions) and might result with a massive retaliation of students and teachers in the academic institutions involved which might give us more problems in this time of health, political and economic crisis.
4. The aggressive action of the government forces against revolutionary group CPP-NPA might affects the stability of the nation and the government in particular by losing its integrity and sense of priority in our time of health and economic crisis and from this it might just cause localized riots and chaos if achieving peaceful mobilization is not yet possible due to intensified tensions.
5. Economically depressed nation will suffer more from its expensive aggressions. While compromising the democratization process of the nation there is a high chance of a complete destruction or collapse of the vital institutions like military, academic and even active private organizations whose supporting the repression expenditures of the repressive apparatuses and its methods or armaments on the resistance movement.
As a valid recommendations according to the CHR letter and Kabataan Partylist (the official and only active youth partylist) Im attaching the official legal document filed by the group of Congresswoman Sarah Elago in this paper:
Letter of the Department of National Defense signed by Sec. Delfin Lorenzana addressed to the UP President Danilo Concepcion.
