THE ‘hotbed’ of the country’s anti-government protest actions, the University of the Philippines-Diliman (UPD) is now being plagued by COVID-19, with six of the victims confirmed dead.
In a bulletin released on July 30, 2020, by the UP Health Service, Public Health Unit, the Diliman community already has 118 COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday, July 28, 2020.
Of the total, 45 are “active cases,” 67 have purportedly recovered while 6 have died.
But observers claimed University officials “delayed” the release of the bulletin so that communist activists and other government critics can still proceed with their anti-government activities last Monday, July 27, 2020, the day of President Duterte’s State of the Nation Address.
UPD management has been tolerant in turning its premises as venue of anti-government demonstrations that utterly disregarded government regulations on social distancing and a temporary ban on any mass gathering due to the pandemic.