UP president aims to promote human rights in new agreement with AFP

MANILA, Philippines — The University of the Philippines has signed an agreement with the Armed Forces of the Philippines that sets the stage for both parties to collaborate on "strategic studies" — an initiative that University President Angelo Jimenez said falls squarely within the state university's public service mission.

The "Declaration of Cooperation," signed on August 8 and published on the university's website on Monday, establishes a "framework for cooperation" between the military's strategic studies office and the state university's think tank, the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies.

The declaration, which has drawn flak from community representatives and student leaders, is "essentially a non-binding framework agreement to pursue future collaborations," Jimenez told Philstar.com in a phone interview.

The agreement states that both parties have jointly "expressed their desire" to engage in research and publications, sharing of technical expertise through joint conferences and dialogues, personnel visits and research fellowships, among other areas of cooperation. 

"This is a public service that is well within the academic mandate of the university to promote high levels of scholarship everywhere, including the [Armed Forces of the Philippines]," Jimenez said.

The military announced the signing of the agreement last week in now-deleted social media posts. It called the declaration a sign of the military’s “commitment to advancing national security while fostering intellectual growth and innovation.”
 
Student leaders and community representatives, including the UP Office of the Student Regent, rebuked the university for forging an agreement with the military. In a joint statement on August 9, the alliance of student councils accused the UP system of "gravely [compromising]" the university's academic freedom.

"The signing of this declaration essentially requires the University to be complicit to human rights violations and political oppression," the statement read.

Jimenez said he is aware of the criticism of the declaration but stressed that it is part of UP's public responsibility to spread high levels of scholarship within the