The Philippines may never have the resources to fully modernize our armed forces or to support a substantially larger standing army. The 1987 Constitution provides that in defense of the State, “all citizens may be required, under conditions provided by law, to render personal, military or civil service.”
Hand in hand with the acquisition of modern weapons and equipment is the need for a citizen army that shall complement the efforts of our regular armed services. An important component in the creation of this people’s army is the revival of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program in order to enlarge and strengthen the leadership base of the military organization.
The University of the Philippines cadet corps actually pioneered the ROTC program in the Philippines in 1912 when Philippine Constabulary officers started providing military instructions at the UP campus. In December 1935, Commonwealth Act no. 1, better known as the National Defense Act, mandated the creation of a citizen army composed of a small regular force and a large reserve component. All able-bodied male students enrolled in Philippine colleges and universities were required to undergo two years of military instruction under an ROTC program.
By 1941, there were 33 colleges and universities throughout the country maintaining ROTC units. When World War II broke out in December, ROTC men were immediately thrown into action against invading Japanese forces. ROTC cadets from Metro-Manila units took part in the holding action in the Bataan peninsula that upset the Japanese timetable for conquest in the Far East by some four months.
In the Visayas, 45 percent of the 75th Infantry Regiment of the USAFFE were ROTC cadets of Silliman University. Disbanded cadets of the Philippine Military Academy and members of various ROTC units formed the Hunters ROTC Guerilla force led by Col. Terry Adevoso and continued the fight against the enemy after the surrender of Bataan and Corregidor.
After World War II, the ROTC program continued to provide quality officers who took over leadership positions in the armed forces. Competition was mainly between PMA graduates and products of ROTC as well as Officer Candidate Schools (OCS) of the different services. It was a healthy rivalry that often brought out the best in both groups.
One of the most prominent ROTC graduates who made it to the post of AFP chief of staff was General Alfredo M. Santos, an engineer-turned-soldier who was corps commander of the UP ROTC in 1929. After five years of engineering practice, he joined the Reserve Officers Service School (ROSS) at Camp Henry Allen in Baguio City to start a military career. Prior to his appointment by president Diosdado Macapagal as the first four-star AFP chief of staff, he was also the first chief of the SEATO (South East Asia Treaty Organization) military planning office with headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand.
Another engineer-turned-soldier was General Rigoberto J. Atienza, a civil engineering graduate of the University of the Philippines and a member of UP ROTC class of 1933. He was a founder of the engineering fraternity, Tau Alpha, and became news editor of the Philippine Collegian. The 51st Engineering Brigade headquarters in Libis, Quezon City is named “Camp General Rigoberto J. Atienza” in his honor.
Former Chief Justice Fred Ruiz Castro, UP ROTC class of 1934, served as executive secretary in the Cabinet of president Ramon Magsaysay, prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court.
General Romeo Espino, the longest-serving chief of staff, was also a product of the ROTC program in UP Los Baños. With a bachelor’s degree in agriculture, Espino decided on a military career when he was called to active duty as a probationary third lieutenant. He served as AFP chief from January 1972 to August 1981, a tour of duty of almost ten years, a record which may never be broken.
Because of his closeness to president Ferdinand Marcos, General Fabian Ver, a “Pillar of UP Vanguard Inc.” class of 1941, would be one of the most powerful to ever hold the post of AFP chief of staff. His sphere of influence would cover every facet of government operations because of his concurrent position as director general of the National Intelligence and Security Authority.
General Jose Magno Jr., UP ROTC class of 1952, would end his military career as commander of Southcom in Mindanao and would later serve as chairman, GSIS Board of Trustees. General Eliseo “Jun” Rio, UP Corps Commander class of 1965, served as commissioner of the National Telecommunications Commission and secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology.
Perhaps the most famous ROTC graduate anywhere in the world would be General Colin L. Powell. Because he was a “Distinguished Military Graduate” of the City College of New York, Powell was given a regular rather than a reserve commission. He would become the first black National Security Adviser to president Ronald Reagan, the first black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) under president George H.W. Bush and the first black Secretary of State under president George W. Bush. Without the ROTC program, the United States would probably have lost the services of one of its most distinguished soldier statesmen.
General Mark Milley, the present Chairman of the JCS, is a product of Princeton University ROTC class of 1980. General James Mattis, who served as US secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019, is a product of the US Naval ROTC program of Central Washington University.
In his first State of the Nation address, President Marcos Jr. made return of mandatory ROTC a priority of his administration. It is time to restore ROTC to its honored place in the leadership efforts of our armed forces.