SAR’s Academic Freedom Monitoring Project investigates and reports attacks on higher education with the aim of raising awareness, generating advocacy, and increasing protection for scholars, students, and academic communities. Starting July 1, 2026, SAR no longer publishes reports for the incidents that it records. SAR continues to monitor and record incidents that will be used in the annual Free to Think report. This page provides a record of incidents reported up to that date. Learn more about the Academic Freedom Monitoring Project.

Date of Incident: October 25, 2025

Attack Types: Killings, Violence, Disappearances

Institution(s):Polytechnic University of the Philippines

Region & Country:Southeastern Asia | Philippines

New or Ongoing:New Incident

On October 25, 2025, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Manila received a bomb threat.

Following the assessment of police teams, the university was declared safe.

This incident was one in a series of bomb threats targeting universities across the Philippines from August to December 2025. The threats coincided with student-led anti-corruption protests and appeared to be intended to chill free expression.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about threats aimed at intimidating the high education community and disrupting classes and campus life. Such actions undermine academic freedom and university autonomy. State and university authorities should take reasonable steps to respond to and prevent such attacks, including by investigating and holding perpetrators accountable.

Sources:

https://phkule.org/article/1784/at-least-17-univ-campuses-receive-bomb-threats-in-october https://www.facebook.com/thepuposr/posts/pfbid04Z5hFHGLaHS2njeMtSS8RbQw3s8afX55f3GqcHUUwzvcJBbrLCdAt61DzsDNz24zl?rdid=uGUevAgmUDaos2Dr#