(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday threatened to give the slots of University of the Philippines students who keep on “walking out” of classes to deserving lumads.
The President made the statement in the local dialect in a speech before the Indigenous Leaders Summit in Davao, and hours after UP students–many of whom were affiliated with militant groups–staged a protest to condemn what they said was the US-Duterte regime.
“These UP students who keep on walking out…Those who don’t want to go to school, get out because I will bring the bright lumads there, I will enroll them there in UP. A lot of Filipinos want a good education,” Duterte said.
He said he was even “encourag(ing)” them to “walk out.”
“Those who keep on demonstrating, don’t walk out of the rooms. I will give you a privilege. Don’t go to school for a year because I will let all the Filipinos who want a good education in,” he said, noting that the tuition of UP students was paid for by taxpayers.
In his speech, Duterte also encouraged lumad students the opportunity to study in prestigious but expensive schools like the Ateneo De Manila University and De La Salle University.
He said their tuition would be paid for by the government.
He also urged those who were good at Math to join the Philippine Military Academy.