Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana revealed being a fan of the hit Korean drama series, “Crash Landing On You” (CLOY) as he justified his decision to end a three-decade-old agreement that barred the military and police from entering the University of the Philippines’ campuses without prior notice from school officials.
Lorenzana asked on Twitter Tuesday (January 19) what made UP “so special” that state forces were unable to enter without coordination since 1989, when the UP-DND accord was signed.
“Sa UP mayroon silang ala-Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Military can’t enter without coordination. What makes UP so special? Nasa Korean border ba kayo? CLOY is life na ba? We are not your enemies. We are here to protect our people, especially our youth,” he said.
Lorenzana told reporters that he watched all the episodes of the Korean series, which starred Son Ye-Jin and Hyun Bin as star-crossed lovers from South Korea and North Korea, respectively.
In a succeeding tweet, the Defense chief said the agreement “has become obsolete.”
“The times and circumstances have changed since the agreement was signed in 1989, three years after the martial law ended. The agreement was a gesture of courtesy accorded to UP upon the University’s request,” he said.
Lorenzana earlier told UP president Danilo Concepcion in a letter dated January 15 that the agreement was being scrapped because of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army’s (CPP-NPA) supposed “clandestine recruitment” of students as communist rebels.
He said the pact was being used by the CPP-NPA as a “shield” to prevent the military and police from foiling their activities inside UP campuses.
Sa UP mayroon silang ala-Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Military can’t enter without coordination. What makes UP so special? Nasa Korean border ba kayo? CLOY is life na ba? We are not your enemies. We are here to protect our people, especially our youth.
— Delfin Lorenzana (@del_lorenzana) January 19, 2021
The agreement has become obsolete. The times and circumstances have changed since the agreement was signed in 1989, three years after the martial law ended. The agreement was a gesture of courtesy accorded to UP upon the University’s request.
— Delfin Lorenzana (@del_lorenzana) January 19, 2021
