FILE PHOTO: Buhay Representative Lito Atienza. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — Vice presidential aspirant Lito Atienza on Thursday rejected a proposal requiring military training for all Filipinos upon reaching the age of 18, saying it is a “step in the wrong direction” and an “added burden to the youth.”
According to Atienza, it would be better to fortify the Filipino youth’s “civic consciousness and capability to respond to problems that affect the nation” and “harness [their] strength, energy, and capabilities in sports and cultural development” than impose mandatory military training on them.
Atienza’s remarks come a day after Sara Duterte-Carpio said that if she wins the vice presidency, she would push for mandatory military service for all Filipinos – male and female – aged 18.
“I strongly object to this proposal. This is a step in the wrong direction. Rather than giving them military training, we should strengthen their civic consciousness and capability to respond to problems that affect the nation and Filipinos in general,” Atienza, an incumbent legislator and former mayor of Manila City, said in a statement.
“We have already finally dispensed with the mandatory military training in the past, realizing that it is of no real use developing the youth towards this end,” he added.
Atienza further said that the youth should instead be trained “to become more conscious of their civic duties and become better citizens,” particularly in the aspect of disaster preparedness and response.
“We have severe typhoons constantly visiting the country like Yolanda and Ondoy, and the latest example of this is the destruction wrought by typhoon Odette on several provinces,” he pointed out.
“We can be better prepared if we add a little more training for the youth of today and give them a bigger role in disaster preparedness. Military training is not the answer,” he added.
Atienza continued: “We have a standing professional army whose salary is paid for by the national government. So why should our young graduates be made to perform the task of defending the country when we have trained soldiers who are tasked to handle the country’s military needs?”
“This is an added burden on the youth. What we should be doing instead is to harness the youth’s strength, energy, and capabilities in sports and cultural development,” he also said.
The issue of foreign threats should be “handled by the military establishment which we already have in place” while local threats such as insurgency should be addressed through better economic policies, employment, and income generation for the public, Atienza likewise asserted.
“Let’s gear our youth towards civic duty and not military consciousness,” he said.
“The 50-year-old insurgency problem we have will never be solved by military actions but rather through better economic policies, employment, and income generation for our people. Poverty and lack of employment and income on the part of the poor are the main reasons for the persistent strength of the NPA (New Peoples Army),” he added.
READ: If elected VP, Sara Duterte will push for mandatory military service for all Filipinos
In 2002, military training was made optional through the National Service Training Program (NSTP) Act of 2001 (Republic Act No. 9163).
Calls to abolish mandatory military training were fueled by the killing of University of Santo Tomas sophomore cadet Mark Welson Chua in 2001 after he exposed corruption in his school’s military training program.