Senate to tackle revival of ROTC

MANILA, Philippines — As tension in the West Philippine Sea continues to heighten, the Senate has set discussions on the proposal to revive the Reserve Officers Training Corps, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said as he urged colleagues to give the ROTC bill a chance.

“We will vote on it. Whether it passes or not, we will prioritize it this coming May before the sine die break,” said Zubiri, who took his oath and donning of rank as an Army reserve lieutenant colonel during a ceremony at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

He said the AFP has designed the proposed ROTC based on expertise. “In the ROTC program, for example, those experts in computers will be in the anti-cyber hacking division of the reservist force. If you are engineers, they will assist the AFP engineering programs, while nursing students will be grouped with the medical corps.”

“It is not just marching, resting, waiting, demonstrating in wooden Garand rifles. It will be in tune with the times,” Zubiri pointed out. “I think we should be ready for eventualities, especially with the tensions that we’re feeling around the external areas of the Philippines. We must be ready at all times to defend our motherland, our beloved country.”

Zubiri said his being an Army reservist is his commitment to the country, especially in preparing for various challenges that include calamities, climate crises, typhoons and earthquakes.

“I did this too as there are many people online bashing the senators whom they claimed were merely talking. So I took it to the next step and I enlisted with the reservist force to show my commitment and love for our country. We will prepare to train for any eventuality,” he added.

The donning of rank ceremony was witnessed by AFP Chief-of-Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr., BGen. Daniel Tansip, BGen. Bernardo Fortez, and MGen. Romulo Manuel, among other officers.

Zubiri also encouraged Filipinos to apply in their lives the essence of the national anthem as the “Araw ng Kagitingan” is commemorated today.

“We always sing ‘Lupang Hinirang, duyan ka ng magiting’ – this is a call to us to live the bravery and courage of our heroes, who gave themselves for the people,” Zubiri said.

“No one else will defend our country if not ourselves. We will make sure that our beloved Philippines is not oppressed by the conqueror. So I hope that many other compatriots will follow our reservistship of the AFP. Join us in standing up for our freedom and our peace,” he added.