OFFICIALS of Barangay UP Campus denounced the Armed Forces of the Philippines for bypassing their authority when military personnel entered the school grounds for a gardening program.

Barangay Captain Zenaida Lectura said she is appalled the military “used their barangay to justify AFP’s presence” when it visited their urban farming project at Pooks Amorsolo, Village B, and Arboretum last January 20.

The military’s visit to the campus came just a day after it was revealed Secretary Delfin Lorenzana unilaterally abrogated the 1989 UP-DND Accord that for decades prevented members of the military from entering UP campuses.

AFP spokesperson Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, however, said the visit was meant to show the military was not an enemy of UP.

“This is proof that the armed forces are not an enemy. The visit was meant to show that if the armed forces enter schools, like UP, it doesn’t mean there’s militarization, but cooperation, coordination between soldiers and people in UP communities for progress,” Arevalo said.

Maj. Celeste Frank Sayson, head of the AFP’s 7th Civil Relations Group, said soldiers have been entering Barangay UP Campus and the UP Diliman campus owing to humanitarian and urban gardening projects.

The military has two major campaigns in partnership with Barangay UP Campus which had been previously approved by then UP Chancellor Fidel Nemenzo — Kapwa Ko Sagot Ko and Raise to 1 Million Gardens in the NCR.

Through a statement released on January 22, Lectura denied they had assented to the AFP’s visit, stressing that only when the military was barred from entering E. Jacinto Street by Kagawad Danilo Arceo, did they seek the barangay’s permission from entering the campus.

“Our barangay projects do not involve the AFP and we welcomed and accepted their donations with the belief that they have only extended relief assistance for humanitarian reasons,” Lectura’s statement read.

“I hope that this will put the issue to rest and Barangay UP Campus will not be used for whatever agenda AFP has,” it added.

In a separate statement, Arceo struck a similar tone in condemning the military’s presence in campus.

“I will surely support and adhere to the university’s advocacy and call for academic freedom and will defend the university against any form of harassment and state terrorism,” Arceo wrote.