Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio’s recent proposal to make military service mandatory for those aged 18 and above shows her lack of understanding regarding security concerns, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV said on Friday.
According to Trillanes — a former military officer who grabbed headlines in 2003 after being one of the leaders of a coup attempt to protest alleged corruption in the armed service — Duterte-Carpio’s proposal is wrong on so many levels.
Trillanes, a staunch critic of the mayor’s father, President Rodrigo Duterte, said that both father and daughter are merely power-tripping.
“Sara Duterte’s mandatory military service proposal is wrong on so many levels. It shows her lack of understanding on national security matters. Like her father, everything is about power tripping,” the former senator said in a statement.
If he manages to win a seat in the 2022 senatorial elections, Trillanes said that such proposals would not be allowed to prosper in the Senate.
“Kung papalarin ako manalo sa Senado, hindi ko palulusutin yan,” he added.
The possibility of mandatory military service for legal age Filipinos grabbed headlines after Duterte-Carpio said that she would push for this proposal, if she wins in the 2022 vice presidential race.
According to the Davao Mayor, she would use her possible office — the Office of the Vice President — to urge Congress to pass a legislation that would formalize her suggestion.
“We see this in other countries like South Korea and Israel. It should not just be like ROTC [Reserved Officers’ Training Corp’ where it’s just one subject or one weekend or a month in a year,” Duterte-Carpio said.
READ: If elected VP, Sara Duterte will push for mandatory military service for all Filipinos
But Duterte-Carpio’s proposal has already encountered criticisms from other sectors including fellow vice presidential bet and Rep. Lito Atienza, who said that it is a step in the wrong direction. Rights group Karapatan meanwhile said that the measure might be a violation of basic civil and political rights.
READ: Karapatan: Sara’s plan to bring back military conscription a possible rights violation
READ: Atienza says no to mandatory military training: It’s a ‘step in the wrong direction’
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana meanwhile said that while he supports the local chief executive’s proposal, realistically, there would be huge hurdles in implementing such a measure especially since the Philippines is “not on war footing.”
READ: Lorenzana: Mandatory military service proposal faces ‘huge hurdles’
Currently, military training is no longer required for college students, as Republic Act No. 9163 or the National Service Training Program Act of 2001 has made it optional.
The calls to abolish military training came after a University of Santo Tomas college student died in 2001 after exposing corruption regarding the training program.