THE OFFICE of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs of the University of the Philippines Los Baños echoed calls for the police and military to surface its alumnus who had been missing for almost two weeks.

It said that Kemuel Ian Cometa’s alleged abduction stressed the need to amplify calls for students’ protection from forces that “could infringe their freedom of expression and right to organize.”

“The UP Los Baños Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs stands in solidarity with the community in demanding that AFP-PNP surface UPLB alumnus and student leader Kemuel Ian Cometa,” the office said in a statement.

It said that Cometa “was one with the call to unite student organizations for safe and accessible spaces in the campus.”

“OVCSA stands in solidarity with the entire UP community in defending our university from any attempts to stifle dissent and threaten our civil liberties,” it added.

Cometa had been missing since May 21, when members of the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines served an arrest warrant in barangay Macabiling, Sta. Rosa, Laguna. However, a gunfight ensued.

Santa Rosa City police chief Lieutenant Colonel Vicente Amante denied that Cometa was involved in their operation.