Mandatory ROTC bill passed in first quarter of 2023, says Dela Rosa

Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa on Tuesday expressed confidence that the bill making the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) mandatory would be passed by the first quarter of 2023 because it is a priority bill of the administration.

Dela Rosa said the bill might not pass within the year as Congress would adjourn its session on December 17.

At a hearing, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) presented a "consensus bill" which would institutionalize a two-year mandatory National Service Training Program (NSTP) and four-year optional Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) curriculum for higher education students.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian pointed out that the Executive Branch's proposed bill focused more on civic duty such as disaster preparedness, and not on military training for students.

"Wala ako nakitang military training in this curriculum...If we are going to bring back ROTC but there is no significant difference between the [Civic Welfare Training Service] and the NCST, parang mina-mandatory lang natin yung CWTS," Gatchalian said.

"If the citizen-soldier training is only a small component, then actually we are not bringing back ROTC. We are just enhancing NSTP," he added.

Dela Rosa said one of the contentious issues in the bills involves the commission or the body which would monitor and handle the ROTC program.

Furthermore, the senator said the proposed ROTC program would not exempt any gender or religion.

"Gusto ninyo gender equality. Ayaw niyo i-consider kayo na weaker sex. So mahalin natin ang ating bansa. Sama-sama tayo dito," Dela Rosa said.

"Kung aatakihin tayo dito ng kalaban, 'di lang naman lalaki ang tatamaan ng bala, pati babae naman tatamaan ng bala ng kalaban. So tulungan natin depensahan ang ating bansa," he added.

A student will not obtain his or her undergraduate degree unless he or she undergoes military training, Dela Rosa said.

In his first State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. listed the mandatory ROTC program for senior high school students as one of his priority measures.

Marcos 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.

“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,” Marcos said.

The mandatory ROTC program was scrapped in 2002 following the passage of Republic Act 9163, an act establishing the NSTP. —NB, GMA Integrated News