ROTC cadets in Cebu City stage walkout

CEBU CITY — Nearly a thousand Reserve Officers Training Course (ROTC) cadets took their campaign for the abolition of the ROTC a step further when they walked out of their training Sunday morning and massed at the Fuente Osmeña.

The walkout first broke out at the University of the Visayas (UV) when some 600 cadets left their training grounds at about 8 a.m., a move which quickly spread to other universities and colleges in the city.

The protest action, according to militant youth organizations, was just the beginning of a series of protest actions to compel Congress to abolish the ROTC.

The UV cadets marched to the University of Cebu where they were met by other students from the University of San Carlos, Southwestern University, Cebu Institute of Technology and Asian College of Technology.

The cadets then trooped to Fuente Osmeña where they condemned the ROTC as an instrument for commercializing education.

Anakbayan secretary-general Reiner Joseph said students have long been clamoring for the ROTC’s abolition because the course only spawns hatred between cadets and their officers.

Anne Regis of the League of Filipino Students added that the ROTC has defeated its purpose of inspiring nationalism and patriotism among students.

Regis said the military has used the course for anti-people activities such as monitoring militant youth and students’ groups through the student intelligence network. — Freeman News Service