Army hints of need to revive ROTC's mandatory status

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Army on Thursday indicated that there may be a need to return the Reserve Officers Training Course (ROTC) to its original status as a mandatory college course, citing benefits that may be derived by students from the subject. ROTC, which is currently an optional course for college students, is a crucial source of personnel that can be tapped in case of war and national emergencies, including disasters. “It is the prime source of our reservists which will back up our regular force as the need arises, particularly in the conduct of Community Defense, in Disaster Rescue and Relief Operation, and Operation other than War...There are so many ways to serve our country, and one of them is being a member of the ROTC," said Army spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. “Partaking in the ROTC program will help develop bearing, leadership, self confidence, discipline, will to survive, knowledge on military subjects and patriotism," he added. The ROTC became an optional course in 2001 following the enactment of Republic Act 9163 (An Act establishing the National Service Training Program for tertiary students, amending for the purpose Republic Act No. 7077 and Presidential Decree No. 1706). The law was passed the same year that Mark Welson Chua, a mechanical engineering student at the University of Santo Tomas (UST), was kidnapped and murdered allegedly by his ROTC officers after he exposed anomalies committed by the UST ROTC office. With ROTC becoming optional, the pool of reservists had been already marginalized, Brawner said. The National Defense Act (Commonwealth Act No. 1) which was the basis for the imposition of ROTC as a mandatory subject in the past has envisioned a lean force but with a large reserve force that can be tapped in case of war and national emergencies. - GMANews.TV