Amid row with China, ex-generals bat for revival of ROTC

MANILA, Philippines - Retired generals back the revival of the mandatory military training for students, citing recent developments that showed the armed forces’ limited capability in protecting the country’s sovereignty.

The Association of General and Flag Officers Inc. (AGFO) said the defense preparedness of the country “has not been served well” since the mandatory Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program was scrapped 11 years ago.

"Geopolitical developments in the Asia Pacific region have accentuated the weaknesses of the Philippine defense posture and exposed the very limited capabilities of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) to defend the national sovereignty,” AGFO said in a resolution dated June 25 and released to the media Wednesday.

The group did not specify the regional developments it was referring to but the resolution was issued amid China’s aggressive acts in the West Philippine Sea including the occupation of areas within the Philippine territory.

AGFO said the courses under the National Service Training Program (NSTP) that replaced the ROTC were not enough to inculcate discipline and patriotism among the youth.

“There is a need to review and determine the effectiveness of the NSTP in enhancing the defense preparedness of the youth,” the group said.

"A new and transformed ROTC program should be considered with the appropriate funding and resources provided for its effective administration."

The resolution was signed by officers of AGFO led by its chairman Edilberto Adan.

Calls to abolish the mandatory ROTC program mounted in 2001 after University of Santo Tomas student Mark Chua was murdered for allegedly exposing the anomalies in his unit.

The program was scrapped in 2002 after then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed into law Republic Act 9163, which created the NSTP.

The law made military training just one of the three programs offered to college students.

The other NSTP components are the Civic Welfare Training Service, which encourages students to join developmental programs and the Literacy Training Service., which trains students to become teachers of school children.

The military agreed that the ROTC promotes discipline and patriotism among the youth.

“The most important part there is for our youth to have a sense of commitment to serve the country have discipline,” Armed Forces public affairs chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said in a press briefing.

“If the time comes that their country needs them, they should be able to heed the call but how can we do that if our citizens or our youth do not have background to do such?” he added.

Zagala noted that among those who defended Bataan during World War II were reserve cadets.

“We need to study this and make sure a revived program can adopt to the times especially the present threat we have,” he said.

Zagala, however, disagreed with the notions that the military cannot defend the Philippines’ sovereignty.

“We respect the opinion of senior leaders who are now retired. If that’s their view on the matter, we respect it but we disagree. The AFP is very much capable of defending the country,” he said.