Senators optimistic about passage of ROTC bill

Inquirer file photo

MANILA, Philippines — Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino and Sen. Ronald dela Rosa have expressed confidence that the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) bill will be approved in the upper chamber.

Tolentino said he believes there are enough votes for the passage of Senate Bill No. 2034, which seeks to make the ROTC program mandatory for tertiary students enrolled in higher learning and vocational institutions.

READ: Who wants mandatory ROTC?

“I believe we have reached a level of support where the ROTC program will be revived. I’m quite confident,” he said in a statement.

Dela Rosa, meanwhile, believes that escalating tensions in the West Philippine Sea improve the measure’s chances of being approved in the third and last session of the 19th Congress.

He stressed that the bill has also addressed the concerns of parents and students about the reinstatement of a program, given its history of corruption and abuse.

The bill, De la Rosa said, provides safeguards that would prevent any form of abuse, violence, or corruption in the ROTC program. —Tina G. Santos