‘Hotspot for crime?’: UP Diliman says there’s no basis

MANILA, Philippines — The University of the Philippines Diliman contradicted on Saturday the remark of the Philippine National Police (PNP) calling Barangay UP Campus a “hotspot for crime” and suggesting that there might be a shabu lab in the area.

“No shabu or illegal drug laboratory has ever operated inside the UP Diliman campus, according to the UP Diliman Public Safety and Security Office under the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs,” UP Diliman said in a statement.

Drug-related crimes accounted for only 1 percent of the security incidents on the campus, but none of those incidents — or three cases reported in February 2020 — involved its staff, faculty, and students.

LOOK: UP Diliman speaks up on recent PNP claim that Barangay U.P. Campus, Quezon City is a "crime hotspot." | @ConsINQ https://t.co/yCWoNGT9jm

— Inquirer (@inquirerdotnet) January 23, 2021

The state university said its security team recorded a 63 percent decrease in crime incidents within the campus, comparing figures from 2019 and 2020.

“Likewise, there is no basis for the claim that UP is a hotspot for crime. In fact, the campus under the jurisdiction of the UPD Police, saw a drop of 63 percent in the number of recorded cases, from 247 in 2019 to only 91 in 2020,” said UP.

UPD said it maintained “cooperative relations” with Camp Karingal, the headquarters of Quezon City Police District, and PNP Station 9 in Quezon City “over the years.”

The UP-DND accord ensures UP Diliman as a peaceful and drug-free campus environment, said the university.

After the scrapping of the 1989 UP-Department of Defense accord, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said he would be are willing to have a dialogue with the university if it could explain the deaths of some students in clashes between the New People’s Army and the military.

The military moved to abrogate the deal, barring police and military at UP campuses, so that it would pursue its anti-insurgency measures, including the reported recruitment by communist rebels in schools.

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