{"id":240390,"date":"2019-12-18T22:05:34","date_gmt":"2019-12-19T03:05:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=240390"},"modified":"2019-12-18T22:05:34","modified_gmt":"2019-12-19T03:05:34","slug":"proposed-mandatory-rotc-not-prelude-to-ph-militarization-afp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/12\/18\/proposed-mandatory-rotc-not-prelude-to-ph-militarization-afp\/","title":{"rendered":"Proposed mandatory ROTC not prelude to PH militarization: AFP"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"ROTC\"<\/a>
FILE: Reserve Officers\u2019 Training Corps (ROTC) students from the Benguet State University and King’s College of the Philippines (KCP) (PIA photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Philippine security officials dismissed on Wednesday that the proposal to make Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) compulsory for senior high school students will be a prelude to the country\u2019s militarization.<\/p>\n

In a press conference in Malacanang, Presidential Security Group (PSG) Commander, Brig. Gen. Jose Eriel Niembra, clarified that the plan to reinstate mandatory ROTC among students in Grades 11 and 12 is merely intended to instill discipline among the youth.<\/p>\n

He said the government wanted to train the Filipino youth and transform them as \u201ceffective rescuers or first responders for natural and man-made disasters\u201d.<\/p>\n

Niembra also stressed that it was \u201cimpossible\u201d to transform the Philippines into a military state because such move \u201ctakes years to develop\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all, this is only the start. Militarization takes years to develop. So\u00a0eto, si Presidente naman<\/em>\u00a0only has two years more so it\u2019s impossible\u00a0na magiging<\/em>\u00a0prelude\u00a0ito ng<\/em>\u00a0militarization of the entire youth\u00a0sa buong Pilipinas<\/em>\u00a0(And the President only has two years more so it\u2019s impossible that proposed mandatory ROTC will be prelude to militarization of the entire youth all throughout the country),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd secondly,\u00a0ang gusto nating i<\/em>-develop\u00a0dito ay<\/em>\u00a0readiness for any eventualities,\u00a0hindi lang po pang-giyera<\/em>\u00a0(we want to develop their readiness for any eventualities, not just for war). We know that the ROTC and the reserved force of the country is the number one force that we can rely on in case of natural and man-made disasters,\u201d the PSG chief added.<\/p>\n

In June this year, Duterte certified as urgent a Senate bill mandating senior high school students in public and private schools to mandatorily undergo ROTC program in an effort to “invigorate their sense of nationalism and patriotism necessary in defending the State and further promote their vital role in nation-building”.<\/p>\n

The House of Representatives in the 17th Congress approved its measure reviving the mandatory ROTC for senior high school students, but the Senate failed to pass its version of the bill.<\/p>\n

ROTC used to be mandatory until Republic Act (RA) 9163 or the National Service Training Program (NSTP) was passed in 2001 under the Arroyo government, making the training course optional and voluntary for college students.<\/p>\n

ROTC, one of the three components of the NSTP, provides military training to motivate and train students for national defense preparedness.<\/p>\n

The two other components of the NSTP are the Civic Welfare Training Service (CWTS) and the Literacy Training Service and (LTS).<\/p>\n

\u2018Stricter\u2019 implementation of mechanisms to avoid abuses<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brig. Gen. Royland Orquia, Armed Forces of the Philippines\u2019 assistant deputy chief of staff for reservist and retiree affairs, said there are \u201csafety nets\u201d for those who will undergo mandatory ROTC program.<\/p>\n

Orquia guaranteed that the government will be \u201cstricter\u201d when it comes to implementing the mechanism for assessing the success of the military training, as well as for ensuring that the program will not be a breeding ground of abuse.<\/p>\n

He likewise noted that professionalization of and training for ROTC commandants are among the current administration\u2019s initiatives, in anticipation of the possible approval of proposed mandatory military training among the youth.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow,\u00a0ang mukha po ngayon ng bagong<\/em>\u00a0ROTC is very different from previous\u00a0dahil sa ngayon, nagkaroon na po tayo ng mga training doon sa<\/em>\u00a0prospect commandants,\u00a0sa mga hahawak ng<\/em>\u00a0ROTC units (Now, the face of new ROTC is very different from the previous because now, we have been conducting trainings for prospect commandants),\u201d said Orquia during the press briefing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere [is] strict implementation of the system and processes.\u00a0May<\/em>\u00a0safety nets\u00a0po tayong dinagdag dito ngayon sa<\/em>\u00a0present program ng ROTC, if and when\u00a0maging<\/em>\u00a0mandatory (We have included safety nets in the present ROTC program, if and when it becomes mandatory),\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Congress\u2019 nod on proposed mandatory ROTC sought<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 18th Congress has yet to pass a proposed measure backing the President\u2019s intent to reinstate the mandatory ROTC for senior high school students.<\/p>\n

To date, there are at least 34,000 ROTC enrollees nationwide, Orquia said.<\/p>\n

Orquia added that many have also expressed willingness to join the military training.<\/p>\n

Learning the lesson from the past, the government will make sure that ROTC recruits will become the \u201cbest and bravest,\u201d Niembra said.<\/p>\n

Presidential Management Staff Assistant Secretary Joseph Encabo expressed hope that the lawmakers would approve the mandatory military training in senior high school.<\/p>\n

Encabo said stakeholders are also willing to cooperate with Congress to expedite the passage of the proposed measure.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is an act of Congress needed in the said bill. And we\u2019re looking forward to that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we hope that all our efforts, our joint efforts here, coming from the service academies, from the technical working group, and the other government agencies will somehow be able to connect with them if they need some information or data gathering,\u201d Encabo added.<\/p>\n

Silent drill competition to showcase ROTC cadets\u2019 \u2018capability, character\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meantime, no less than the Commander-in-Chief conceptualized the first presidential silent drill competition that will be held at the Quirino Grandstand in Metro Manila on Dec. 20.<\/p>\n

Technical working group chairman, Commander Julien Dolor said competitors include the Philippine Military Academy, the Philippine National Police, the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific, the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy, the Philippine Army Officer Candidate School, the Philippine Navy Officer Candidate School, and the Philippine Air Force Candidate School.<\/p>\n

Niembra said the silent drills are meant to showcase the ROTC cadets\u2019 \u201ccapability and character.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe (Duterte) ordered that it be done doon\u00a0sa<\/em>\u00a0Quirino Grandstand para\u00a0po ma-<\/em>appreciate\u00a0ng ating mga kababayan na ito \u2018yung ating<\/em>\u00a0Armed Forces,\u00a0ito \u2018yung ating mga kadete<\/em>\u00a0(He ordered that it be done at the Quirino Grandstand so our countrymen would appreciate our armed forces, our cadets),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully, this will awaken the interest of our people doon po sa ating (in our) ROTC program),\u201d the PSG chief added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2013 Philippine security officials dismissed on Wednesday that the proposal to make Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) compulsory for senior …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":240391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-240390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-ruth-abbey-gita-carlos","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240390"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":240393,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240390\/revisions\/240393"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}