House okays bill on compulsory civic, military training

The House of Representatives on Thursday approved on third and final reading a bill institutionalizing the two-year National Citizens Service Training Program (NCSTP), which includes military training.

House Bill No. 6687, certified urgent by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on Wednesday, got 276 yes votes, four no votes and one abstention.

The measure requires a two-year NCST program for all higher education institutions students enrolled in two to four-year undergraduate courses.  The proposed program includes the "completion of the compulsory military training under Republic Act. No. 7077" or the Citizen Armed Forces of the Philippines Reservist Act.

"Upon completion of NCST, citizen-cadets shall be deemed NCST graduates and shall be incorporated in the NSRC (National Service Reserve Corps) and the AFP Reserve Force," the bill said.

The bill also provides that the NCST curriculum should provide the students with practical and applicable knowledge and skills that are necessary, essential, ideal for survival, and for attaining resilience, and to ensure the immediate availability of these skills in times of local and national emergencies and disasters, both natural  and man-made.

Likewise, the measure states that the NCST program should instill in students the values of civic mindedness, volunteerism and genuine service to others by developing tertiary education students to be community crisis managers and leaders in times of emergencies and disasters.

“The curriculum of the NCST Program will ensure that students who finish the NCST program will have undergone the appropriate citizen competency training which shall include civic duty inculcation, survival and safety techniques including first-aid administration, and community or mass emergency and disaster response and management,” the bill stated.

At least two amendments were made to House Bill 6687 prior to second reading approval:

· the retention of Literacy Training Service in the NCST Program pushed by Pasig representative Roman Romulo

· removing the AFP in the NCST Program Technical panel tasked with drafting the NCST curriculum and replacing it with a representative from the teachers’ union and students’ ranks pushed by House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro of ACT Teachers

With NCST bill being certified urgent by the President, it allowed Congress to approve the measure on second and third reading on the same day.

But for Kabataan party-list representative Raoul Manuel, there is nothing urgent about making military training for students mandatory.

“Our rules require that certifying a measure urgent is done to address a public calamity or emergency. The Executive does not meet such requirements. There are more urgent issues to address, such as the turtle-paced resumption of face-to-face classes amid COVID-19 pandemic,” Manuel, one of the four who voted against the measure, said.—LDF, GMA Integrated News