Varsities reject recruitment by rebels claim

FOUR private universities rejected accusations by authorities that they serve as recruitment grounds of Maoist rebels, days after students protested against military patrols at some campuses.

President Rodrigo Duterte’s government has stepped up efforts to end a Maoist-led rebellion, one of the world’s longest insurgencies that has killed more than 40,000 people.Last week, students protested against a government decision to allow security forces to patrol the University of the Philippines (UP), which authorities also accused of being a breeding ground for rebels.