Youth group slams Duterte’s renewed bid to revive mandatory ROTC

MANILA, Philippines — A youth group on Friday slammed President Rodrigo Duterte’s desire to make the Reserved Officers Training Corps program mandatory for students.

In a speech Thursday, Duterte renewed his call for the revival of the mandatory ROTC program for college students. He also called on the Congress to pass a law that would require mandatory ROTC for Grade 11 and 12 students.

This, he said, would “instill patriotism, love of country among our youth.”

But for activist youth group Anakbayan, the mandatory ROTC program was abolished for good reasons.

“The Filipino people said ‘NO’ to mandatory ROTC for good reasons—it put students at the mercy of cruel fellow students and the bloodthirsty, corrupt and incompetent AFP officers in charge of the program,” Anakbayan secretary general Einsten Recedes said.

The death of University of Santo Tomas student Mark Chua in 2001 prompted the passage of the National Service Training Program, which made ROTC voluntary. Chua was murdered after exposing irregularities in the ROTC unit of the university.

Anakbayan also said that the chief executive is pushing for the revival of the mandatory ROTC to have his “own version” of Hitler Youth.

“Just like Hitler in the 1920s, Duterte simply wants to create a generation of brainwashed, fanatically loyal young men and women willing to die for him. Duterte wants more bodies for his fascist meatgrinder, expendable cannon fodder to fulfil his dreams of absolute dictatorship,” Recedes claimed.

Despite his repeated bids to make the program mandatory again, Duterte had admitted in 2016 that he “did not even finish ROTC.”

READ: Duterte admits not finishing ROTC course

Mandatory military training gets support from AFP, some lawmakers

The Armed Forces of the Philippines welcomed the president’s statement on the revival of mandatory ROTC.

“The AFP has full support on this particular instruction and expression desired by the president,” AFP spokesperson Edgard Arevalo said.

Rep. Ruffy Biazon (Muntinlupa City) said mandatory military training does not only instill sense of patriotism and discipline among the youth but it also “develops leadership and establishes a standby force for mobilization during national emergencies, calamities and other instances.”

Biazon, the senior vice chair of the lower house’s committee on national defense, filed House Bill 1260, which seeks to amend the NSTP law. The proposed measure has been pending since 2016.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III, for his part, said it is the high time for the re-establishment of mandatory ROTC.

“I’m very supportive of the idea. It’s to instill discipline. Kaya nga siguro medyo kinukulang na ‘yung mga kabataan natin ng disiplina at saka ng pagtingin sa inang bayan dahil dun sa… Nung araw, may ROTC kaming lahat kaya sumusunod kami sa mga sinasabi ng gobyerno, umiiwas sa droga,” he said.