UNIVERSITY of the Philippines-Diliman Chancellor Fidel Nemenzo said that the school will remain a haven for intelligent discourse and will always honor its policy of academic freedom and critical thinking.

He issued the statement amid President Rodrigo Duterte’s accusation that the university is a breeding ground for communists.

“We will strongly defend the University’s time-honored traditions of academic freedom and critical thinking. UP’s proud history of service and activism has shown that we can do both,” Nemenzo said in a statement.

“Those who blame UP for breeding communists forget that UP has bred more scientists, artists, doctors, lawyers, diplomats and civil servants,” he added.

He maintained that the school has no place for intolerance, bigotry and red-tagging.

Academic freedom, he stressed, is essential for the mind and for UP’s dual role as knowledge producer and social critic.

“We play the role of social critic from a position of evidence-based scholarship and moral courage. This role is a distinct service to the nation. The choice of faculty and students to express their grievances, criticize the government and call for policy changes, is their fundamental and inalienable right as Filipino citizens,” Nemenzo said.

Calls to end the semester, he added, should not be construed as abandonment of one’s education, but “as a legitimate expression of their commitment to teaching and learning, which has undeniably suffered due to the pandemic and recent spate of typhoons.”

Nemenzo gave assurances that the university will not end the semester early.

“At a time of great economic need and political ferment, the University is all the more needed — as a place where we can challenge ideas, sharpen our positions, and gain clarity about the social and political issues confronting our society. This is UP’s mission and we have to continue this task,” he said.