by Camille Joyce Lita
A bill calling for the abolition of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) is now pending in the House of Representatives, after youth group Kabataan Partylist filed the measure on August 3 to counter the administration’s plan of reinstating the program’s mandatory nature.
Filed two days after President Rodrigo Duterte announced the revival of ROTC in all tertiary schools, House Bill (HB) 2399 or the ROTC Abolition Act of 2016 aims to remove the program from both public and private colleges, citing its records of abuses over the course of its implementation.
“It became a hotbed for abuses including corruption, bribery, extortion, collection of unauthorized and excessive fees, and physical and verbal violence. It became nothing but a burden to students. It is time that we abolish this vestige of militarism in our schools,” said Kabataan Representative Sarah Jane Elago.
Records of harassment
The ROTC has been a mandatory college requirement since 1967, when the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos released Executive Order 59 “to provide strong civilian base for the expansion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in the event of war, invasion, and rebellion.”
During its implementation, the ROTC has listed cases of hazing and allegedly abusive military control, highlighted by the death of University of Sto. Tomas Cadet Mark Chua after he exposed the corruption and misconduct of ROTC Officers on 2001. Chua’s death prompted the government to remove ROTC as a compulsory course in college.
“We [the UP ROTC] do not condone these isolated cases. These were caused by human factor and not by the program. These cases of hazing, corruption, extortion, and violence were done by a few and should not be used to generalize the whole program,” said UP ROTC Corps Commander CLtCol Gea Brellia J. Jayson, First Class.
The bill claims that campus-use for military training is inconsistent with the Republic Act No. 7610 or the Special Protection Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act, which prohibits the use of public infrastructures such as schools for military purposes.
A similar agreement in UP forbids military and police presence within the campus, as per the Sotto-Enrile Accord of 1989 with the Department of Interior and Local Government and Department of National Defense. However, ROTC classes in UP Mindanao are currently under the supervision of AFP’s 11th Infantry Battalion, as per the 1316th meeting of the Board of Regents on March 31.
“ROTC is AFP’s extension of military action inside the campus premises to keep surveillance on students, by the students themselves,” said Kevin Castro, spokesperson of the National Union of Students of the Philippines.
Military personnel are responsible for the proper implementation of the Program of Instruction that secures no misconduct is done inside the Corps, Jayson said. “Every ROTC unit has a designated Commandant, Assistant Commandant, and Administrative Non-commissioned officer which all are military personnel,” he added.
Lack of discipline
In his announcement, Duterte claimed that ROTC’s optional nature has produced the lack of discipline and nationalism in today’s youth.
“Kung ang primary objective [ng ROTC] ay gawing mas makabayan ang mga mag-aaral, ito ay hindi sa porma ng ROTC. Kung gusto natin ng mga kabataang handang ialay ang kanilang dunong at talent sa ating bansa, makakamit lamang ito sa pagbabago mismo sa sistema ng edukasyon,” said Student Regent Raoul Danniel Manuel.
With the move to abolish ROTC, groups recommended the expansion of the National Service Training Program (NSTP) Act of 2001, which directs the state to promote civic consciousness among the youth and advance their involvement on public and civic affairs.
Castro reiterated how the government need not to resort to mandatory ROTC since the NSTP Act can be expanded to instill nationalism and discipline-building.
“Naniniwala ako sa potensyal ng mga kabataan bilang tagapagtaguyod ng pagbabago sa bansa. Kailangan lang ng venues ng kanilang mga potensyal upang maging kapaki-pakinabang sila sa lipunan,” Manuel said. ■
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