National Youth Commission welcomes inclusion of mandatory ROTC in priority bills

MANILA, Philippines — National Youth Commission chairman Ronald Cardema yesterday welcomed the inclusion of the mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) bill among the priority legislation of the Marcos administration.

“We are happy that President Marcos in his first (State of the Nation Address) prioritized the return of the mandatory ROTC for the youth of our country,” Cardema said in a message to reporters.

“Disaster preparedness training is better under a mandatory ROTC program because in disasters, you cannot perform alone… In the ROTC, you are oriented as military units, how to deploy your units and resources in coordination with the entire military structure and government resources. We need that in this disaster-prone archipelago of ours,” he added.

The NYC is coordinating with senators and congressmen who can produce the “best version” of the mandatory ROTC bill, according to Cardema.

He said they would also coordinate with the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education and the Department of National Defense (DND) to ensure that the program will be implemented without abuse and corruption.

“The NYC will make sure that this return of the mandatory ROTC will be good for our country and a game-changer to transform millions of Filipino youth into a generation of nation-builders and nationalistic professionals,” he added.

During his SONA, Marcos identified the mandatory ROTC bill in senior high school as among his priority legislations.

“The aim is to motivate, train, organize and mobilize the students for national defense preparedness, including disaster preparedness and capacity-building for risk-related situations,” the President said.

Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte, who earlier backed such a proposal, has yet to comment on Marcos’ remarks.

In 2019, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading a proposed bill that would institutionalize the ROTC in Grades 11 and 12.

Its counterpart measure in the Senate was not approved.

The mandatory ROTC became optional following the passage of Republic Act 9163, or the National Service Training Program Act, which allowed college students to take literacy or civic welfare training service instead of military training courses. – Michael Punongbayan