DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 25 May) – The administration of the University of the Philippines Mindanao (UPMin) said it will assure the safety of its students, adding it would protect its community from harassment.
The campus has been under the spotlight on social media after some alumni claimed there was active recruitment of the New People’s Army inside its 204-hectare compound.
Chancellor Lyre Anni Murao, speaking during UPMin’s online student recognition ceremony Monday morning, said various posts about the campus were causing students “undue stress and anxiety.”
“UP Mindanao respects the diversity of convictions and beliefs that encompass the broad ideological spectrum. In fact, historically, UP has been known to be a marketplace of various discourses and ideologies. We encourage freedom of thought and expression as long as it is within legal bounds,” Murao stressed.
“We call on everyone concerned to observe sobriety and objectivity,” she said.
In a statement released last week, Murao said the administration would consider legal actions against those who engage in the redtagging of any member of its community.
“This is my promise to you our dear students. The admin will continue to protect you against any form of harassment. In turn, promise me also that you will use your critical thinking in the right track for national development,” Murao addressed the students.
Himati, UPMin’s student publication, reported on its Facebook page that UP Student Regent Renee Louise Co is suggesting a safe haven resolution for UPMin during the official’s visit in campus Tuesday last week.
One recent post that started a wildfire of redtagging from different sectors was one by Dr. Edward “Choyax” Cagape Jr.
Cagape’s statement, posted on his personal Facebook page evening of May 14, claimed there was an active recruitment of NPAs in campus and chided classmates who post denials. “There is and it starts with the words ‘critical thinking’,” he added.
Murao released a statement days later, on May 21, calling the allegation “irresponsible.”
“We express grave concern over a recent post from an alumnus on social media about the alleged NPA recruitment in the UP Mindanao campus, which has affected the UP Mindanao community,” the chancellor said.
She said the post may have been based on Cagape’s experience while he was a student about two decades ago, but “this does not warrant the citing of the post as the basis of allegations from the National Security Council of the Philippines,” she said.
“We will take legal action due to harassment, when necessary, to protect the welfare of our constituents, especially our students. Furthermore, we are committed to remain vigilant and to uphold the welfare of our students and the entire UP Mindanao community against undue harassment by any form or means,” Murao vowed.
The Facebook pages of the National Security Council, Region XI’s Police Community Affairs and Development Unit, and military units such as the 303rd Infantry Brigade have since cited Cagape’s post as “proof” of recruitment inside the campus.
On May 21, UPMin’s University Student Council released a statement signed by representatives from at least 25 student organizations condemning the “vile portrayal of the National Security Council of the Philippines (NSC) against our academic institution and the community that dwells within.”
“Unyielding as ever, we reiterate that UP, as an academic institution, is a democratic space that encourages its students to conduct research into any sort of dilemma and act on it as they see fit,” the students said. (MindaNews)
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