CHED eyes 'advanced ROTC' program in college

If the Reserved Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) becomes mandatory in senior high school, then the existing optional two-year training in universities will be converted into an "advanced" program, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) said Tuesday.

At a public briefing, CHED chairperson Prospero de Vera III said the commission supports the plan of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to make ROTC mandatory for Grade 11 and 12 students.

“Kapag nagkaroon ng senior high na ROTC, ma-amyendahan yung [National Service Training Program] law dahil yung laman nung optional na two years ROTC sa university level ay mako-convert into advanced ROTC program,” he said.

(If the senior high school will have ROTC, the NSTP Law will be amended. The optional two years of ROTC at the university level will be converted into an advanced ROTC program.)

According to De Vera, the CHED has drafted the proposed revision that it plans to submit to lawmakers.

He said those who will complete the advanced ROTC program will earn a diploma or certificate in military sciences or disaster management.

They can also be recruited as officers to the Armed Forces of the Philippines or to the military reserved force, he added.

De Vera said the advanced program will be “skills-based” and may use the platforms and facilities of local government units and Philippine Red Cross, among others.

Marcos included the proposed mandatory ROTC program as one of the priority measures of his administration, even mentioning it in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA).

“The aim is to motivate, train, organize, and mobilize the students for national defense preparedness, including disaster preparedness and capacity building for risk-related situations,” he said in his SONA.

On Monday, a number of progressive groups signed a petition against the proposed revival of the mandatory ROTC for Grade 11 and Grade 12 students.

Among the reasons they cited were additional expenses and waste of public funds, more burdens on students, culture of violence and corruption, fake nationalism, threat to academic freedom, and violation of domestic and international laws and conventions.—LDF, GMA News