Is it time to revive mandatory ROTC?

[dexlimp]

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THE DEPARTMENT of National Defense (DND) has drawn flak for its proposal to make Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) training mandatory to help boost the country’s military force.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said in a radio interview that although there were many reservists in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, mandatory ROTC would provide the right training to allow students to assist in times of emergency.
The National Defense Act of 1935, which made ROTC mandatory, had stated that students, from the age of 10 years, were required to undergo military training until age 21. It was repealed by Republic Act 9163 or the National Service Training Program (NSTP) Act of 2001, which gave students other options aside from ROTC.
Remembering Mark Chua
The proposal’s critics hark back to the case of Mark Welson Chua, a former ROTC cadet, who was murdered in 2001 for exposing anomalies in the ROTC unit of the University.
In February 2001, the Varsitarian ran an investigative story on corruption in ROTC based on Chua’s revelations.
His complaint resulted in the sacking of UST-ROTC Commandant Demy Tejares and the UST Department of Military Science and Tactics staff (DMST).
A month later, Chua was found dead, with his body floating in the Pasig River. Immediate suspects were DMST officials, but the courts convicted a group of cadet officers, two of whom remain at large.
Fr. Tamerlane Lana, O.P., who was rector at that time, soon after led the University Belt Consortium, an informal group of universities in Manila, and called for the abolition of mandatory ROTC.
In January 2002, mandatory ROTC was abolished by Republic Act No. 9163 or the NSTP Act.
ROTC was made optional and two programs were introduced: Civic Welfare Training Service (CWTS) and Literacy Training Service (LTS).
Raising public awareness
Father Lana, now rector and president of the Colegio de San Juan de Letran, said the death of Chua had raised public awareness of the corruption and irregularities going on in the ROTC program.
“[Corruption] was a known fact but nobody really cared about it at first,” Lana told the Varsitarian in an interview. “[The incident] raised concerns and critical voices of officials of universities and colleges against ROTC.”
Unless the government can assure students that the case of Chua won’t be repeated, the measure restoring mandatory ROTC will not gather steam, he said.
Lana suggested instead that the number of students enrolling into ROTC and NSTP be balanced.
“[Both programs] should serve the purpose for which they were established,” he said.
Freedom to choose
Jose Origenes, National Service Training Program (NSTP) moderator, did not criticize the DND’s proposal but said it would deprive students of their right to choose which service they would like to perform—military, civic, or literary.
“The NSTP law has given [students] the freedom to choose which component they are most comfortable with and [the program] has also contributed much to the war against poverty and lack of education,” he said.
Origenes added that over the years, the NSTP law had produced patriotic and responsible citizens.
If mandatory ROTC is revived, the LTS and the CWTS of the NSTP program will be dissolved, leaving students with no option but to take up ROTC.
Justifying mandatory ROTC
Jose Faustino, UST-ROTC commandant, agreed with the DND, saying the proposal would be beneficial to the country.
“The objective [of ROTC] is to instill discipline and prepare individuals not necessarily for military service, but to be future leaders of the country,” Faustino said.
Students are trained to become responsible citizens, and the basic tenets of discipline are embedded in ROTC, he added.
Faustino also said ROTC had given students an edge in the job market.
UST-ROTC Administration Officer Elenita Altamirano attested to this, claiming that alumni with ROTC training as indicated in their transcripts had a better chance of being employed.
In an interview with the Varsitarian, DND Deputy Chief of Staff for Reservists and Retiree Affairs Oscar Brito said that if mandatory ROTC training would be revived, national defense would be bolstered despite lack of military equipment.
“We can sleep soundly overnight because there will be someone who can defend our country since our citizens are well-trained,” Brito said.
Brito lamented that the quality of ROTC has significantly deteriorated.
“During our time, ROTC training lasted for two years, which is a big difference compared to one year of training now,” he said, adding that there is a lack of qualified civilians to facilitate ROTC training. Jelina Anne S. Bunagan and A. A. T. Santiago

Is it time to revive mandatory ROTC? | The Varsitarian

old link:
Generals' group wants mandatory ROTC revived | News | GMA News Online
Revival of ROTC sought | Headlines, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com

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agree ko ani na e revive hehehe..nka ROTC sad bya ko before na abolish..

[kit_cebu]

this is a lot better tingali: Second Amendment to the United States Constitution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

reviving this would mean (again) corruption in the lower ranks...

[Lupin]

mas nindot gyud ug naa tay freedom to choose....

[R_sQuArEd]

mas maayo kay way disiplina kasagaran ang mga kabatan-onan karon...di kibaw musunod ug balaod...maghimo ug ilaha

[brian joshua]

revive. arun makatilaw sad ni sila. kapoy ra ba intawn kaayo to. haha

pero kahinanglan gyud kay as what kuya @R_sQuArEd said haha

[C'thulhu]

It would be better if the program is voluntary, instead of mandatory. Quality vs quantity. We do still have active ROTC units here, good example is USJ-R's Jaguars Army ROTC... Problem is most of the cadets are female, if I'm not mistaken, around 80%. Dunno what's wrong with the boys now...

[masakiton]

kung ila i balik ang ROTC.. mag huna2x pud tawn sila ug mga maayo nga program.. kasagaran cge ra marcha2x or mag tree planting

[vulture08]

Much better kung voluntary dili mandatory kay maglisud jud ang mga College student ana. Kaya medjo risky pud ang ROTC.

[jonz]

at least naay basic training.. and better program....

[leekiaM]

if voluntary cguro out of 10 students isa ra cguroy mutunga. haha mo reklamo nmn gani sa p.e ug cwts ang uban college samot na ROTC. haha di jd lalim ang rotc. haha