Duterte just wants to protect youth when he warned to bombard Lumad schools: Abella

July 25, 2017

President Rodrigo Duterte just wanted to protect the youth when he warned to bombard Lumad schools being used by the communist rebels to teach subversion, Malacanang said on Tuesday. Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement the president notes that certain lumad or indigenous schools are being used to foment rebellion against the government. "PRRD (Duterte) warns them in the strongest terms to discontinue these actions; persistence will warrant appropriate government action," he said. "PRRD highlights the need to protect our youth and doing so entails ensuring they get the correct education that reinforces the right values that instill love of country and respect for our laws among others, and not rebellion," he added. In a media interview after his second State on the Nation Address on Monday, Duterte said there were lumad schools being operated without the Department of Education’s permit. He said those schools were "teaching subversion, communism, everything. "I'm telling the lumad to leave. I will bomb you. I will include your structures," said Duterte, who decided to halt the peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front amid continuous attacks and extortion activities by the rebels. "I will use the Armed Forces, the Philippine Air Force. I will really bomb all of your (structures). Because you are operating illegally and you are teaching the children to rebel against government," he said. (Celerina Monte/DMS)