Army chief: Mandatory ROTC to provide trained, competent reserve in country’s defense

The proposed reinstitution of a mandatory Reserved Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program for senior high school students would provide a “trained and competent” reserve force for the country’s defense, Philippine Army Chief Lieutenant General Romeo Brawner Jr. said on Tuesday.

The Army chief issued the remark after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. proposed to reinstitute the ROTC and the National Service Training Program (NSTP) as mandatory for Grade 11 and 12 students in all public and private institutions.

“This is a very important and urgent legislative agenda. This will provide the country with a trained and competent reserve force which is very important in the defense of our country, following the lessons that we are learning from the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” Brawner said in a statement.

He said that this would also develop a “sense of patriotism in the youth.”

"We will address the possible abuses by professionalizing our pool of trainers and enhancing the capacity of the reserve command of the Philippine Army,” he added.

The mandatory ROTC program was scrapped in 2002 following the passage of Republic Act 9163 that established the NSTP.

This came after the March 2001 killing of University of Santo Tomas student Mark Wilson Chua, allegedly by his ROTC handlers, after he had exposed the corruption in the ROTC corps.

Meanwhile, Several officials have pushed for a mandatory ROTC program, including Vice President Sara Duterte and Senator Sherwin Gatchalian. — DVM, GMA News