Duterte: ROTC or conscription?

MANILA, Philippines -  President Duterte yesterday floated the idea of enacting a conscription law as he criticized the scrapping of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) as a college requirement following the death of a cadet.

A conscription law will require citizens to undergo military training or serve the armed forces.

In a speech during the opening of Palarong Pambansa in Antique, Duterte described as “short-sighted” the abolition of mandatory ROTC, a policy that he claimed reduced the number of reserve forces.

Duterte said some students are avoiding military training since it is no longer required.

“Yung iba ayaw (Some do not like it). Or would you rather that I come up with a law that will conscript you?” the President said, adding that the policy has been adopted by countries like Israel, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. “Make a choice.”

He said Congress “scrapped entirely the ROTC” over a hazing incident in the University of Santo Tomas (UST) that resulted in the death of one or two cadets.

“My God, that was really short-sighted. They could have investigated and put to prison (the people behind the hazing). Why remove the ROTC?” he said.

The mandatory ROTC was scrapped in 2002 following the death of UST cadet Mark Chua, who exposed alleged irregularities in his unit.

It was replaced by the National Service Training Program, which made military training just one of the programs offered to college students

Other NSTP components are the Civic Welfare Training Service, which allows students to join developmental programs and the Literacy Training Service that aims to address gaps in public schools.

Duterte, also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, said those who took ROTC would guide civilians in case a war erupts.

“We are already old so you take care of country. If you can’t handle an M16 we will all be useless. I am old. I would rather eat .45 (caliber) because if the terrorists catch you, they will behead you,” he said.

“I’m working on a law to restore the Reserve Officers Training Corps so I can be assured that the next generation at least knows how to handle firearms, do maneuvers in the field and defend the country.”

Duterte said the youth should know how to defend themselves because nobody else will.

“Who else will defend you? Ask America for help? They will not die for you. You will be the ones who will die for our country. That is the message of a father to a nation. You will be the ones who will sacrifice,” he said.