Chiz: Mandatory ROTC to cost government P8 billion a year

MANILA, Philippines — Implementing the mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program in colleges and universities will cost P8 billion a year, according to Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero.

Escudero said this was the estimate provided to him during a meeting with Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro on Wednesday about the bill seeking to make military reservist training in schools mandatory.

“The biggest question is, can we find P8 billion to fund the mandatory ROTC? That can actually fund a lot of things like education and health,” Escudero said during the Kapihan sa Senado forum yesterday.

It would cost the government P27.12 billion to fully implement mandatory ROTC in three phases from 2025 to 2029, the senator added, citing defense department data.

Asked if the government can afford to implement the mandatory ROTC, Escudero said: “It will be tough, especially given the other expenditures the government needs to allocate funds for in the coming year, given even the elections.”

The Senate’s version of the bill is still under interpellation while the House has approved its version. It is included under the “second priority” list of pet bills of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council.

“Government is about allocating scarce resources, if you are able to allocate scarce resources, then we govern properly. Allocating scarce resources means prioritizing certain budgetary expenditures over others. That is something Congress has to consider,” Escudero said.

Another concern raised is the provision in the bill that would make all students who complete the basic ROTC program automatically enlisted to the reserve force.

“They do not have the ability to absorb this amount of reserve force members. There is already a backlog even under the current National Service Training Program (NSTP),” Escudero said.

Escudero said he remains opposed to the bill but he would not use his position as Senate President to block its passage in the upper chamber.

“My position against it does not mean I will stifle its passage, if majority of the members are in favor of it,” Escudero, who once openly wondered how standing and marching for hours under sun and rain could develop one’s patriotism, said.

ROTC was made optional in 2002 upon the passage of the NSTP law, which would be repealed once the mandatory ROTC bill becomes a law.

The abolition of the mandatory military program followed the death of University of Santo Tomas student Mark Welson Chua, who was killed by his fellow cadets in 2001 for exposing corruption in the ROTC. His body was found wrapped in a carpet at Pasig River.

Senators doused fears about another hazing death due to ROTC, saying the bill has safeguards against abusive ROTC officials.

The bill seeks to create a National Grievance and Monitoring Committee composed by officials from the Department of National Defense, Justice, and Interior and Local Government, the Commission on Higher Education, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

The national committee is tasked to investigate complaints of abuse, violence, or corruption as reported to the grievance board in every ROTC unit.