Members of Lyceum of Alabang Reserved Officers’ Training Course unit perform during the 1st National Capital Region Regional Community Defense Group – ROTC Fancy Drill Competition at the Headquarters Philippine Army Grandstand, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. —Inquirer photo/Richard A. Reyes
MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos wants the passage of Senate Bill No. 2034 sped up, which will again make the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) mandatory for tertiary students in higher learning as well as vocational institutions.
“There is already a go signal from the President to go for it…, the President himself said we should expedite it,” Senate Majority Floor Leader Francis Tolentino said in an interview with dzBB on Sunday.
“We were able to explain it to the President… we just discussed possible amendments… on the transitory provisions whether it’s for one year or two years. Basically the program is for first year and second year college. What I see is it may only be for first year, basic. Then advance, if there are those who want to specialize. We can craft [an] ROTC curriculum where one can specialize, let say, on cybersecurity, etc.,” he added.
READ: ROTC’s dark past haunts as critics of reviving it tagged ‘unpatriotic’
Tolentino said the ROTC program would be part of the curriculum and include disaster preparation and management, caring for the environment, and climate change, among others.
Asked how the proposed measure could help ease tensions in the West Philippine Sea, Tolentino said it would be a “big help” in instilling in young people “a strong love for the country.”
“As compared to China, we only have 107,000-strong reservists, some of them have aged already. Don’t we want to increase their number? Our soldiers also retire, so who would protect our security and territory? We’re not saying we’re engaging in a fight. But it’s a lot better when we show something in action than in words,” he added.
According to Tolentino, they expect to discuss the bill once plenary sessions resume in November.
Pending
A quick look at the upper chamber’s website showed that SB 2034 remains pending on second reading with the last interpellation held on July 31. The House of Representatives has already passed its version on the third and final reading.
Two student leaders, however, expressed their opposition to the revival of mandatory ROTC.
“A program rife with a history of physical, mental and even sexual abuse will never sit well with students and other educational stakeholders,” said Kej Andres, Student Christian Movement of the Philippines national chair.
University of the Philippines student regent Francesca Duran said that if the program aimed to teach students to protect the environment, this could be done in other ways.
Mandatory ROTC was abolished in 2001 in the wake of public outrage over the murder of University of Santo Tomas student Mark Welson Chua, who exposed corrupt practices in the university’s ROTC program.
In 2017, then-President Rodrigo Duterte approved the Department of National Defense’s proposal for its revival in all senior high schools, prompting the House and Senate to come up with their own respective bills in 2018 and 2019, respectively. —with reports from Dempsey Reyes and Inquirer Research