MANDATORY ROTC | Senators question mandatory ROTC bill after hazing death

March 3, 2023 , 05:02 PM

By Clarist Zablan

(March 3, 2023) – Some senators on Friday stressed the need to revisit, if not outright abandon, proposals to revive the mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program after a university student reportedly died due to fraternity hazing activities.

There is an urgent need to study the proposal as concerns rise from youth groups that making ROTC mandatory again might encourage violence in schools, Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said as there had been a long history of violence linked to the program.

“I trust our AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), men in uniform. But here, you ask me if I trust the program, I will go back to my previous statement why ROTC was abolished,” he said.

The senator’s comment came after reports of an Adamson University student, John Matthew Salilig, who died allegedly from fraternity hazing. His remains were found last Tuesday.

Salilig’s family and another neophyte separately filed complaints against six persons for violations of the anti-hazing law in connection to the student’s death. The Commission on Human Righto launched a separate investigation into the incident.

Earlier, the National Union of Students of the Philippines warned that making military training mandatory for students could breed campus violence in the country.

A minority senator, Risa Hontiveros, said allocating funds for the proposed mandatory ROTC bill will be a “waste of precious taxpayers’ money” better spent on programs that will address the ongoing economic and education crisis in the country.

“Walang puwang ang anumang uri ng karahasan sa ating mga paaralan at pamantasan,” Hontiveros said in a statement. “There is no compelling justification to revive the mandatory ROTC program.”

Senator Nancy Binay shared the other senators’ concerns, adding that the ROTC course that proponents wanted to make mandatory is “flawed to the core” and has “[accounted] for a long list of hazing cases.”

“SAAN ANG CHARACTER IMPROVEMENT DOON?”

Hindi maunawaan ni Sen. Nancy Binay kung paanong naging pagmamahal sa bayan ang #ROTC gayong bulok aniya ang sistema nito dahil sa korupsyon, pang-aabuso, at hazing. pic.twitter.com/j912RDfyhR

— News5 (@News5PH) March 3, 2023

A staunch advocate of mandatory ROTC, Senator Bato dela Rosa questioned calls to abolish ROTC following the alleged hazing incident, calling it a “desperate move” from a left-wing group.

“What is the connection? The victim died because of fraternity hazing and not of ROTC training,” Dela Rosa, a former national police chief, said in a statement.

Hindi nakikita ni Sen. Bato dela Rosa ang koneksyon ng pagkamatay ng Adamson University student na si John Matthew Salilig dahil sa hazing at pagbabasura ng Mandatory #ROTC bill. | via @maeannelosbanos pic.twitter.com/ehNyOe0FA4

— News5 (@News5PH) March 3, 2023

ROTC was historically mandatory in the Philippines to all physically fit male students at the tertiary level, but it became an optional component of NSTP in 2002 following the gruesome death of Mark Chua, an ROTC cadet from the University of Santo Tomas.

(MM | With reports from Marie Ann Los Baños, News5)

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