Lawmakers score 'railroading' of mandatory ROTC amid WPS tensions
MANILA, Philippines — Minority lawmakers from the House of Representatives on Thursday flagged what they described as an attempt by the Senate to "railroad" the mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) bill amid heightened geopolitical tensions over the West Philippine Sea.
Rep. Raoul Manuel (Kabataan Party-list) said in a press conference on Thursday that the maritime conflict between two global powers, China and the United States, should not be used to fast-track the mandatory ROTC bill, which is widely opposed by youth groups concerned over past abuses by cadets of the program.
Manuel said that teaching students to "love and serve their country" should not be done in the context of other countries' wars.
"Kung makaladkad ang Pilipinas sa gyera ng US at China doon sa WPS, makikinabang lamang ng US sa milyon milyong kabataan na magiging reserba lamang sa gyera laban sa China," the lawmaker said.
(If the Philippines is dragged into a war between the US and China in the West Philippine Sea, only the US will benefit from millions of youth who will become reserves solely for war against China.)
Sen. Bato dela Rosa, sponsor of the bill, has said that making ROTC compulsory will help the country strengthen its defense and security.
"With or without the West Philippine Sea issue, kailangan na kailangan talaga natin yan. How much more na may impending threat sa West Philippine Sea, so all the more we need to prepare, there’s no compromise for defense,” he said.
(With or without the West Philippine Sea issue, we really need that. How much more with an impending threat in the West Philippine Sea, so all the more we need to prepare, there’s no compromise for defense.)
Currently, students in higher education institutions (HEIs) have the option to take ROTC as one of three options under the National Service Training Program (NSTP), which replaced the then-mandatory ROTC in 2001 as a response to the military program's reported abuses and corruption. The two other options are the civic welfare training service and literacy training service.
However, under Senate Bill 2034, all students enrolled in HEIs and Technical Vocational Institutions (TVIs) will be required to complete four semesters of ROTC training.
Last month, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said that the upper chamber would prioritize deliberations of the mandatory ROTC bill in May, a promise he said he made to dela Rosa, sponsor of the measure.
Senate Bill 2034 is currently pending second reading, while a counterpart measure in the House of Representatives was approved on final reading in December 2022.
Zubiri said that the upper chamber will "give the bill a chance" but also acknowledged senators' divided stance on the measure. Opposition to ROTC in the Senate comes the two-member minority bloc, Sen. Risa Hontiveros and Sen. Koko Pimentel,
Manuel scored ROTC advocates in the upper chamber for pushing for the bill's approval amid the current learning crisis.
The lawmaker proposed instead to make the teaching of Philippine history and the Constitution mandatory.
"Kasi paano ba matututo ang kabataan na piliin at ipagtanggol ang Pilipinas kung hindi nila alam ang kasaysayan at mismong Konstitusyon kung saan saklaw ang ating national sovereignty?" Manuel said.
(Because how can the youth learn to choose and defend the Philippines if they do not know our history and the Constitution which deals with our national sovereignty?)
The ROTC program was made optional in 2001 following the brutal killing of University of Santo Tomas student Mark Welson Chua, who exposed allegations of corruption within his ROTC unit and filed a complaint against his superiors.
Then-Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr., who lobbied to make ROTC no longer required for students, said in 2001 that the program no longer made sense post-World War II due to the absence of any external threat to national defense and security.
Magsaysay also said that only 10% of 400,000 ROTC graduates went on to join the Armed Forces of the Philippines every year.
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