‘Good experience’ with cops and soldiers

This is in reaction to the April 17 letter of Krissy Conti, student regent of the University of the Philippines.

I would like to share my views on the points she raised about the alleged harassment, persecution and vilification of UP students by the military and police in some incidents she cited in her letter.

My niece and some of her classmates from De La Salle University had the chance of interacting with government soldiers during their on-the-job training on certain school assignments and projects that required them to have a better look and understanding of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

For sure, they had a lot of good experiences, learned a lot and became aware of current issues affecting our people. They now better appreciate the AFP and the police for what they are doing for society. Likewise, just recently, DLSU students invited guest speakers from the military to talk on the AFP Internal Peace and Security Program or Project “Bayanihan.”

The military has prepared a series of lectures on “Bayanihan” to inform and educate students about the effort of winning the peace, which is the essence of “Bayanihan.”

Further, the AFP had on-the-job trainees from the University of Santo Tomas, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Ateneo, UP, DLSU and other  schools. I am fortunate that I also had the opportunity to be one of the resource persons and trainers of these students.

—ROSALIE B. FUENTES,

rosaliefuentes216@yahoo.com.ph