MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte has declared November 17 of every year as National Students’ Day “in recognition of the invaluable contribution of student activism to Philippine democracy.”
Duterte signed Republic Act 11369 on August 8, 2019. A copy of the law was released to the media only on Wednesday.
The new law said “an annual program of activities for the observance of National Students’ Day should be prepared and implemented with the National Youth Commission (NYC) serving as the lead agency.”
It also mandated the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education to support the NYC in all efforts to facilitate and promote related activities in all public and private schools.
It urged all schools, colleges and universities to support exercises and activities launched by students during the observance of National Students’ Day. /gsg