MANILA -- Some senators on Wednesday opposed National Youth Commission (NYC) chairperson Ronald Cardema's proposal to revoke the scholarships of "rebellious, anti-government scholars."
Senator Panfilo Lacson said government scholars should not be penalized or even kicked out of school for "being militant and joining anti-government rallies to show dissent", since they are exercising a basic right “available to any citizen” of the country.
Lacson, however, noted that once these student-activists bear arms and commit the crime of rebellion, then they must be punished accordingly.
“If they bear arms and commit the crime of rebellion, in the same vein, just like any other person, they should not only be dismissed from school, they should suffer the consequences of their criminal act and jailed, after being accorded due process,” Lacson said.
Senator Francis Escudero described Cardema’s proposal as “sycophantic” and “obsequious”, noting that the NYC head is ignorant of the Constitution and is “surely doing a disservice” to President Rodrigo Duterte and the government.
Escudero said the proposal violates the Constitution and the bill of rights that guarantees: freedom of speech, of expression and of the press; the right of the people to peaceably assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances; and to due process and equal protection of the laws.
“The government is the government of those who agree with it and disagree with it... and the President is the President of those who voted for him and did not vote for him. Both the President and the government should serve every Filipino without distinction and regardless of political beliefs,” Escudero said.
“Dissent, in a democracy should never be frowned upon, much less penalized in any way,” Escudero added.
Senator Francis Pangilinan said it is not illegal for students to join leftist organizations or joining rallies, stressing that the NYC’s proposal would be illegal if they pursue this policy.
Cardema stood by his appeal to President Duterte to issue an executive order removing all rebellious anti-government scholars from the government scholarship program.
“The Filipino people formed the government to govern, to regulate, to discipline, to collect taxes, and to allocate the Filipino people’s funds into government scholarships and programs," he said in a statement previously published.
The statement added that fighting the government means "fighting the majority of the Filipino people and also not fulfilling their roles as the expected breadwinners who will uplift their families and hope in strengthening the country."
"As chairman of the National Youth Commission, I am requesting our head of government, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, to issue an Executive Order removing the government scholarships of all anti-government scholars, specifically those students who are allied with the leftist CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front), a terrorist group that is trying to overthrow the Philippine government and killing our government troops,” Cardema said. (PNA)
