Duterte threatens to defund UP amid false report of student strike

President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to cut funding for the University of the Philippines (UP) after being told about an academic strike.

Duterte alleged that UP students do nothing but recruit communists and criticize the government.

However, the academic strike was initiated by students from Ateneo de Manila University, not UP.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque clarified that Ateneo students launched the strike, though someone in a Cabinet meeting informed Duterte that UP Manila also called for an academic strike.

Senator Francis Pangilinan stated that Duterte's threat to defund UP over student protests would be 'legally infirm'.

Pangilinan urged the administration to address students' concerns regarding the government's handling of the pandemic and disaster response.

The UP community had previously slammed Duterte's threats and red-tagging, citing criminal neglect and the difficulties of remote learning.