MANILA, Philippines — Under fire for his proposal to remove scholarships from “anti-government” students, National Youth Commission (NYC) chairman Ronald Cardema said he was merely reviving an earlier idea of President Duterte. Speaking with The Chiefs aired on Cignal TV’s “One News” on Thursday, Cardema said he merely based his proposal on an earlier threat made by the President against protesters. He appeared to be referring to a remark made by Duterte last year after students staged a nationwide walkout to protest against his government’s policies. Cardema said he was only calling for the removal of government scholarships of “very, very few” anti-government scholars who have already joined or are supporting the NPA. Año also noted that President Duterte himself had said students directly helping the communist rebels will have their scholarships revoked and may also be charged with rebellion.

Source: Philippine Star February 22, 2019 16:00 UTC