President Duterte is not keen on removing the scholarship of students who join anti-government rallies as long as they do not start a rebellion or overthrow the government.
Duterte made the statement after National Youth Commission chairperson Ronald Cardema said that students joining anti-State protests should lose their scholarships.
In an interview with Malacañang reporters after the signing of the Universal Health Care Act yesterday, Duterte said that mere membership and expression of disagreement with the government will not cause students to lose their government scholarship.
“Mere presence of one’s crime does not make you liable,” he said. “Wala naman kung dissent lang. If you disagree with my move, or you do not find consonance…fine,” he added.
The President reminded students that espousing to overthrow government means they are committing the crime of rebellion which is a non-bailable offense.
“I will consider every one of them since there is no total outbreak of war yet, but they are these potential leaders. If showing their faces, convincing the nation and at this time they are all leaders. And when the time comes I will arrest all of them and they will lose everything that the government has offered them,” he said.
“If they espouse the very government feeding food on their mouth, they will lose that scholarship,” he added.
Duterte also warned students that joining, or even supporting the New People’s Army, would cost them their scholarship.
“If you espouse, support the NPAs, espouse their destruction of government, I will consider you an enemy,” he said. “If you go and say let us go out join the NPAs, support the NPAs, give food to the NPAs, money to the NPAs, then you espouse the destruction of the duly constituted government,” he added. (Argyll Geducos)