CIDG arrested UP employee, says Office of the Student Regent

MANILA, Philippines — An employee of the University of the Philippines and a colleague was allegedly arrested by the Philippine National Police (PNP) Criminal Investigation and Detection Group on Monday, the UP Office of the Student Regent said in a post on its Facebook page.

“Forces of the Crime Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) intruded Pook Village A last night at 7 PM. They illegally arrested UP Asian Center employee Jun Nario and a colleague, saying they were engaging in Online Karera while failing to observe social distancing measures,” the post said.

“They were eventually released when UP lawyers intervened,” it added.

INQUIRER.net reached out the CIDG to confirm the incident but has not received a reply as of this writing.

Meanwhile, the PNP Public Information Office told INQUIRER.net that it had not received this information, but it would continue to verify if the arrests really happened.

But according to the UP Office of the Student Regent, the arrest violated the agreement between UP and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), which was still in force.

The UP-DILG agreement is different from the UP-Department of National Defense (UP-DND) accord which was abrogated last January.

Both deals are meant to safeguard the university by requiring authorities to inform school administrators about any operation inside campuses, except during hot pursuit or other emergencies.

The UP-DILG accord affirms the other agreement, but it focuses on the law enforcement agencies and attached offices under the DILG.

Both parties have agreed to review the deal to keep it in tune with the times.

“The harassment and intrusion of CIDG violates the UP-DILG agreement that remains effective to this day. The agreement prohibits the police from entering and conducting operations inside UP without the knowledge and approval of the University,” the UP Office of the Student Regent said.

“This, along with the unilateral abrogation of the UP-DND accord, poses a serious threat to academic freedom and the safety and security of UP constituents,” it added.

Last January, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana drew flak for the abrogation of the UP-DND accord, even as he insisted that it was only meant to protect the state university from enemies of the state.

In his letter to UP President Danilo Concepcion, he said that the revocation of the agreement was based on recent events involving the alleged recruitment of students into the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army.

Lorenzana’s move drew fierce criticism from the UP community, including activist groups, students, faculty members, former students, and even government officials — all claiming that the DND’s move was intended to discourage dissent.

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