MANILA, Philippines — The National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) has called on National Youth Commission (NYC) chairperson Ronald Cardema to resign after asking President Rodrigo Duterte to revoke the scholarships of “anti-government” students.
“NUSP, the broadest alliance of student councils in the country, called on the National Youth Commission (NYC) Chairperson Ronald Cardema to resign following his recommendation to revoke the scholarship of students who join protests or rallies,” the youth group said in a statement on Wednesday.
Cardema recently asked Duterte to remove scholarships of “anti-government” students, also specifying those who are linked to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the New People’s Army (NPA), and the National Democratic Front (NDF).
READ: NYC chair: Remove scholarships of ‘anti-government’ students
Aside from his recent remark, the NUSP also enumerated other basis which they believe are sufficient for Cardema’s resignation.
This includes “using NYC as platform to endorse administration-backed senatorial candidates, red-tagging legal student organizations, and being silent on pressing youth concerns such as school fee increases and lowering of minimum age of criminal responsibility.”
“Copying his boss Duterte, the NYC Chair acts like a tyrant so insecure that he attacks our right to express as enshrined in the Constitution just to silence critics and watchdogs of government policies,” NUSP Deputy Secretary General Raoul Manuel said, as quoted in the statement.
Manuel noted that “free education and scholarships are not from Duterte’s money. They are people’s money.”
“Students are not indebted to the corrupt tyrant in Malacañang. We owe our education to the Filipino people, to whom the youth offers its efforts as we push for the rights and welfare of the oppressed millions,” he added. /muf