AS CONGRESS started tackling bills that seek to amend the University of the Philippines charter, UP Diliman Chancellor Fidel Nemenzo echoed calls to defend academic freedom.

Nemenzo said that the university stands with lawmakers who seek to institutionalize the university’s agreement with the Department of National Defense that barred the entry of soldiers and policemen in UP campuses.

He stressed that academic freedom has been key to the sustenance of UP’s best traditions of honor and excellence.

“We protect this freedom because it protects everyone’s freedom — to think freely, learn safely, serve with integrity, and live with dignity. Let us uphold our rights. Let us defend academic freedom,” he said.

The chancellor stressed that UP must be able to openly express its sentiments “free from fear of legal persecution, threats of arrests and violent hostility.”

“Institutions of higher learning will only flourish in an atmosphere where the life of the mind reigns supreme and unfettered by any and all kinds of censorship,” Nemenzo said in a statement.

“Developing a questioning and inquiring mind, one that challenges conventional wisdom and the status quo and the intellectual and creative pursuit for truth is what we hope to instill in our students in a spirit of honor, excellence and public service,” he added.

In January, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana terminated the DND-UP accord citing the recruitment activities of the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People’s Army inside UP campuses as the reason.