Solon on mandatory ROTC: Do we really need four million reservists?

A lawmaker on Monday questioned if four million reservists are really needed and if having mandatory Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) will not compromise the quality of training and the money that will be used for its implementation.

“Kailangan natin ito suriin nang mabuti. Pagdebatehan natin nang mabuti dahil ang objective ng ROTC ay ang pagbibigay ng ready reserved force para sa ating DND (Department of National Defense) at saka ating AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines),” Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) party-list Representative Jericho Nograles said in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV.

“Kung sobra-sobra naman ang 4 million baka hindi naman natin kailangan i-push,” he added.

Nograles: Kaya ko sinusuportahan ito dahil kulang 'yung reserved force. Pero ang tanong, kailangan bang mandatory at kaya ba ng AFP at DND na kumuha ng bagong four million reservist. 'Yun ang kailangang sagutin ng Dept. of National Defense.

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According to Nograles, the Department of Education (DepEd) said there are 4 million high school students in the 60,000 public and private institutions in the country.

Nograles wanted assurance from the AFP if it could handle the training of 4 million students in 60,000 schools considering that it only has 120,000 personnel.

“Kung ang ating AFP ay magde-deploy ng isang opisyal kada institusyon, e di kalahati na ng Hukbong Sandatahan ng Pilipinas ang ide-deploy,” he said.

“'Yung sa 4 million ba na reservists, kaya ba natin talagang ma-train 'yan ng defense readiness, mabilhan ba natin sila ng baril, mabigyan ba natin ng sapat na training?” he added.

Nograles, who said he himself went through ROTC, said the expenses for the training were usually shouldered by parents and not funded by the government.

“Tama po 'yung sinasabi ng mga magulang na ang mga gumastos naman ng mga gamit ng mga bata ay mga magulang at hindi naman ang gobyerno,” he said.

“We are talking about requirement of an expenditure, whether public or private, ng approximately P4,000 per cadet,” he said.

Aside from checking the quality of training, Nograles also wanted assurance that the money is not going to be wasted for the program.

“Ang tanong natin: Effective ba 'yung ating training sa kanila o nagsasayang lang tayo ng pera ng gobyerno at ng private money?” he asked.

According to Nograles, 14 mandatory ROTC bills were submitted to the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture. These bills call for the abolition of the Citizens Army Training to replace it with the mandatory ROTC.

Nograles added that three same bills were submitted to the Committee on Higher and Technical Education but they propose the mandatory ROTC only for 1st year and 2nd year college students.

Due to differing proposals, Nograles said the two committees will discuss the matter in a joint hearing.

The same bill was passed in the third and final reading in the House during the 17th Congress. The Senate failed to pass the bill as the 17th Congress has already ended.

In his latest State of the Nation Address, President Rodrigo Duterte urged lawmakers to support the proposed mandatory ROTC program in public and private senior high schools. —Joviland Rita/KG, GMA News