MANDATORY ROTC | Marcos pushes mandatory ROTC for senior high school

July 26, 2022 , 08:17 AM

By Clarist Zablan

(July 25, 2022) – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday asked lawmakers to enact a measure reviving the mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) courses for senior high school students.

In his inaugural State of the Nation Address (SONA), Marcos said the ROTC and National Service Training Program (NSTP) should be made mandatory for Grades 11 and 12 in all public and private tertiary-level educational institutions to train the youth in defending the country and respond to disasters and other high-risk scenarios.

“The aim is to motivate, train, organize and mobilize the students for national defense preparedness, including disaster preparedness and capacity building for risk-related situations,” Marcos told lawmakers in his SONA.

The measure is among 19 priority bills enumerated by the president on his wish list for the next six years.

Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, a former national police chief, and Sherwin Gatchalian have re-filed a measure in the 19th Congress to make ROTC mandatory for students.

Dela Rosa cited the need to strengthen the country’s defenses in case China’s aggression escalates in the future. China has maintained its sweeping claims over nearly all of the South China Sea, which conflicts with the Philippines’ maritime claims, despite having been debunked by an arbitral ruling.

The program, which was once imposed on all physically fit males in universities and colleges, was made optional in 2002 under the National Service Training Program (NSTP) after an ROTC cadet, Mark Welson Chua, was brutally murdered after exposing corruption in the University of Santo Tomas’ (UST) ROTC program.

Marcos Jr.’s call drew mixed reactions among lawmakers.

Gatchalian stressed that an ROTC program will help instill “discipline, love for country, and also additional skills for our students.”

But Risa Hontiveros, who is joining the minority bloc, said students should not be forced to serve in the military if they would rather serve the country in other ways.

“Yung ibang mga kabataang Pilipino na gustong maglingkod kay Inang Bayan sa iba pang paraan, huwag natin silang pilitin na sa iisang hulma lamang,” she said. “Dapat palayo tayo sa military na mindset natin, papunta sa mas demokratiko at mas citizen’s participation sa iba’t ibang anyo.”

Measures to make ROTC mandatory were approved by the lower house of Congress more than three years ago, under the 17th Congress, but failed to progress in the Senate beyond the second reading. It also did not progress beyond the committee level under the 18th Congress.

(With reports from Marianne Enriquez, News 5)

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