THE UNIVERSITY of the Philippines has yet to receive an official communication from the Department of National Defense regarding the holding of a dialogue on abrogation of the 1989 agreement that barred the entry of soldiers and policemen in UP campuses.

Elena Pernia, UP vice president for public affairs, said that the university wants the continuance of the accord which she claimed “has worked very well for the past 30 years.”

“Our position is a reconsideration of the termination. That’s where we stand. That’s what we’re asking for. Together with that one, we are asking for a discussion of the concerns and the issues that they have raised in the media,” she said.

However, she said that no schedule has been set for the dialogue between officials of UP and DND.

“It was not directly given to us. As Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said, it was made through trusted friends. These trusted friends I am not sure whether they have relayed it to us but as of now we have not received anything in writing,” Pernia said.

Pernia said the university welcomes Lorenzana’s openness to sit down with UP officials.

“When Secretary Delfin Lorenzana made that statement about his willingness to sit down with the UP, we welcomed it because that is what we have been asking for,” she said.

The DND unilaterally junked the 1989 accord over allegations that UP had become “a safe haven for enemies of the state.”

Pernia said that the abrogation of the pact has affected faculty members and students.

She also pointed out that surveillance operations inside the university would be “antithetical to academic freedom.”

“Academic freedom means you have discussions, are allowed on various positions without fear somebody is listening and there is consequence to these discussions. That’s what we are concerned about,” she said.

“Without academic freedom, what good is a university? How can learning proceed? Academic freedom is a value and a principle without which higher educational institutions like the UP could not flourish,” she added.