Mayor Joy Belmonte assures all faculty and students in the University of the Philippines Diliman of the City Government’s support for academic freedom in the embattled University. “I was a lecturer at the UP before, and I know how important academic freedom is in an educational institution.

True learning will only happen in an environment where there is a free discourse of ideas by all members of the community.

Quezon City is known as a bastion of higher learning being host to many prestigious universities and colleges. “In Quezon City, academic freedom will always be protected and upheld,” Belmonte stressed.

Mayor Belmonte taught MA students at the University of the Philippines’ Archaeological Studies Program after completing postgraduate degrees in Archaeology and Museum Studies in the United Kingdom.

For his part, the Executive Officer of the People’s Law Enforcement Board (PLEB), or the people’s court for erring policemen, vowed that any abusive conduct of policemen that may be done in the UP Campus will be dealt with accordingly.

“We pledge that disciplinary action awaits possible abusive conduct by policemen inside the UP Diliman campus. Please be reminded that we all live in a democracy where basic freedoms, including academic freedom, must be upheld,” said Atty. Rafael Calinisan, a UP Diliman alumnus.

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