CHEd: No suppression of anti-gov’t sentiments in universities

In this file photo, student leaders from several schools in Metro Manila, which have been named by the military as targets of communist infiltration as part of a “Red October” plot to oust President Duterte, gather at the University of the Philippines Diliman to denounce the “highly sensationalized and largely unfounded” allegation. INQUIRER FILE / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

Anti-government sentiments won’t be curtailed in colleges and universities even after the military linked 18 Metro Manila schools to the “Red October,” the alleged plot to oust President Rodrigo Duterte, the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) said Wednesday.

“The commission recognizes academic freedom, freedom of expression among state universities and of course among the students,” lawyer Cinderella Jaro, officer-in-charge executive director of CHEd said in a briefing in Malacañang.

Jaro said there would be no crackdown on academic freedom, which includes protests among students given that these actions do not violate existing laws.

“We should also take into consideration our rules, laws and regulations. So, as long as the academic freedom and the freedom of expression would not somehow violate the laws and regulations, of course the commission would recognize the academic freedom and freedom of expression of state universities and our students,” she said.

The military earlier named 18 Metro Manila universities where communist rebels allegedly tried to recruit students for the “Red October” plot.

READ: AFP names metro schools allegedly organized by Reds for ‘Red October’

Jaro said the military and the police had not sent official communication to CHEd.

“As of now we have no official communication from AFP or from PNP as to that information,” she said. /cbb