Bill mandating ROTC for high school approved sans youth consultation — Kabataan

MANILA, Philippines — Kabataan party-list slammed the House of Representatives for “railroading” the passage of the proposed measure to reinstitute mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps for Senior High School Students.

Rep. Sarah Elago (Kabataan party-list) raised that the Duterte administration has resumed on its “anti-people and anti-youth policies” at the resumption of the 17th Congress on Monday.

In a vote of 167-4-0, the House approved House Bill 8961 on third and final reading, which orders the mandatory ROTC for Grades 11 and 12 students in public and private schools.

Elago, however, said that the bill was approved without consultation with the youth.

“There was lack of debate for discussing its merits and necessity, its provisions were inserted without further consultation to its beneficiaries: Our Senior High School students,” Elago said.

Elago also reminded that ROTC cadet Mark Welson Chua was killed in 2001 after he divulged corruption in the ROTC program of the University of Santo Tomas.

EXPLAINER: Why ROTC is no longer mandatory

“The endless accounts of hazing, harassments, physical, sexual, and emotional abuse have been documented by the youth representation yet the government together with the armed state forces fail to bat an eye on these crimes against the youth,” she added.

Gabriela Women’s Party, for its part, said that this move will “institutionalize the presence and operations of military officers inside campuses while giving a free pass to AFP in conducting red-tagging seminars against perceived government critics.”

Philippine jurisprudence defines red-tagging as “the act of labelling, branding, naming and accusing individuals and/or organizations of being left-leaning, subversives, communists or terrorists (used as) a strategy... by State agents, particularly law enforcement agencies and the military, against those perceived to be ‘threats’ or ‘enemies of the State.’”

EXPLAINER: Duterte’s red-tagging endangers activists – militant groups

The National Union of Peoples' Lawyers and rights advocate groups Karapatan, Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP) and Gabriela have sought relief against perceived state red-tagging from the Supreme Court.

DND: ROTC will instill love of country

The Department of National Defense, meanwhile, said that the passage of the bill will “help instill love of country, good citizenship, respect for human rights and adherence to the rule of law.”

In a statement posted by News5, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also expressed hope that the Senate will approve its counterpart bill before the 17th Congress ends.

“Hopefully the Senate will also pass it during this Congress so we can start implementing it this coming school year,” he added.

Counterpart bills seeking the reinstatement of the ROTC in SHS students remain pending at the committee level of the Senate. — Kristine Joy Patag with report from News5