Mandatory ROTC will be free of abuses – Duterte security officials
MANILA, Philippines — Security officials of President Rodrigo Duterte assured the public that the revival of a mandatory Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program would not be an avenue for abuse and violence.
Brig. Gen. Royland Orquia, assistant deputy chief-of-staff for Reservist and Retiree Affairs of the AFP, said there would be “safety nets” to prevent abuses that had tarnished the reputation of the ROTC program before.
“There are strict implementation of the system and the processes. There are safety nets that we included to the present ROTC if it becomes mandatory,” Orquia said in a briefing in Malacañang for the first Presidential Silent Drill.
He said there would be “professionalization of the commandants” holding the ROTC program.
He cited “that one factor that contributed to the downfall of the ROTC Program before was the quality of cadres assigned to ROTC.”
Brig. Gen Niembra, Presidential Security Group chief, said: “We learned our lessons, this time around we assure you that all those who will be in the reserve command are the best and the bravest of the AFP.”
Niembra allayed fears that the revival of the mandatory ROTC would be a prelude to a having a military state.
“This is only the start. Militarization takes years to develop. President Duterte has only two ore years. So it’s impossible that this will be a prelude to for a militarization of the entire youth in the Philippines,” he said.
“We know that the ROTC and the reserve force of our country is the number one force that we can rely on in case of natural and man-made disasters,” he added.
Silent drill
The government will hold the First Presidential Drill, which was conceptualized by Duterte, on Friday.
Seven service academies would participate in the drill — the Philippine Military Academy, the Philippine National Police Academy, the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific, the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy, the Philippine Army Officer Candidate School, the Philippine Navy Officer Candidate School, and the Philippine Air Force Candidate School.
Orquia said the drill would “somehow inspire our youths” and “a way to support the pending mandatory ROTC by the President.”
Assistant Secretary Joseph Encabo of the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) also relayed the value that Duterte ascribed to the mandatory ROTC, saying: “The President believes that it brings nation-building through disciplined and well-trained cadets coming from the ROTC Program. So that’s how the President wants to see and at the same time to gain interest from those students, the ROTC cadets as well to support the Armed Forces of the Philippines.”
“But on top of that, the most important thing is the value of nationalism and discipline of the ROTC students,” he added.
/atm
