A MEETING will be held this week between officials of the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the University of the Philippines to review an agreement they entered in 1992 that requires authorities to notify UP officials before entering the campus.

In a statement, the DILG said it will not unilaterally abrogate the 1992 agreement without consultation with UP officials.

“Contrary to a report that came out in a broadsheet, the DILG wants to hold a dialogue with UP officials to revisit the 1992 agreement. For the record, what we said was that there is a need to review the 1992 agreement requiring the PNP to notify UP authorities before entering its campuses,” DILG Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said.

Malaya said the meeting will also address the concerns of the Department regarding the agreement.

“The 1992 agreement, in fact, calls for regular meetings between the two parties to discuss the implementation of the accord. This meeting, therefore, is in keeping with agreement and is for the purpose of determining if the agreement is still relevant and serves to uphold public order and safety within UP campuses,” he said.

Under Section 7 of the UP-DILG agreement, the two parties must meet at least twice a year or as often as necessary. UP and DILG have not met in years.

Senate Resolution 616 also urges dialogue between the two parties to “promote peace and security in UP campuses.”

One of the agendas of the meeting, Malaya said, is the rise of ‘non-academic’ residents within the premises of  UP Diliman campus which led to an increase in crime in the area

“The non-academic areas in UP have increased through the years and crime has been increasing, thus we need to discuss ways on how we can maintain peace and order in those areas,” he said.

The development of UP Technohub and UP Town Center, as well as a significant number of informal settlers living inside UP property poses a problem for the campus police, the spokesperson said.

“With the growth of the population within each campus, the current capability of the university’s police and firefighting forces must be assessed. Kaya pa ba nilang panindigan ang responsibilidad na pangalagaan ang seguridad at kaayusan sa loob ng campus?” he said.

“Upon the request of UP, we are open to a meeting. Kailangan na talaga nating umupo at mag-usap dahil sa dami ng mga pagbabago, pangyayari at problema sa UP. The bottomline is, and will always be, to ensure peace and security in the students and faculty of UP,” he added.

The DILG would also raise the issue of recruitment to the Communist Party of the Philippines as it is the reason for the abrogation of the 1989 UP-Department of National Defense agreement.

The 1992 UP-DILG agreement was signed by then UP President Jose Abueva and then DILG Secretary Rafael Alunan III when the control of the Philippine police force was transferred from the DND to the DILG.