Bataan lawmaker wants to bring back mandatory ROTC program

Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman AFP PHOTO

Newly enlisted as the country’s first transgender military officer, Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman on Thursday called for the mandatory implementation of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program among senior high school students.

“For service of country, we must bring back the mandatory ROTC program for Grades 11 and 12,” she said a day after donning the rank of Lieutenant Colonel as she joined the Philippine Army Reserve Force.

Roman, the first transgender congresswoman, is also the first transgender reservist of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

“I commend the AFP for allowing Filipino LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) members to serve their country in uniform,” she said in a statement.

“My belief is that ALL patriotic Filipinos must be allowed to apply for military service, regardless of gender and sexual orientation and identification.  After all, war and disaster do not recognize gender. These affect everybody, and EVERYONE must defend and serve our communities and our country,” Roman said.

In pushing for mandatory ROTC program, she said military training would help instill patriotism among the youth.

The ROTC program used to be a mandatory requirement among male college students for graduation, until controversies, including a hazing death at the University of Santo Tomas, prompted calls for its scrapping.

Congress in 2001 passed a law making ROTC only one of the three components of the National Service Training Program and no longer a requirement for graduation.