by Mark Nelson De Leon
Students holding out placards with calls such as "Abolish ROTC", "Hands Off Youth", "Hands Off Our Schools" during the #SIGWalkout at the People's Park.
College students from University of the Philippines (UPB) and Saint Louis University (SLU) and high schools students of Philippine Science High School, expressed their disapproval on the proposed bill reviving mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program both in secondary and collegiate level in a mass protest, February 28.
The House bill 8961 or Mandatory ROTC bill hides under the label “Citizen Service Training Course” (CSTC) will affect the Campus Safety and Security Act that ensures the safety and security of academic institutions from internal and external threats.
“Isa itong paglabag sa mga pamukalang pinapanatiling zone of peace ang mga paaralan. Gusto lamang panatilihing kimi’t bulag ng AFP ang malawak na hanay ng mga estudyante sa mga karahasang dinudulot nila,” said Reginald Flores, Youth Act Now Against Tyranny spokesperson, yesterday at the ‘SIGWA: Kabataan Para sa Edukasyon Laban sa Pasismo’.
“Ang mga kadeteng pinatay habang nasa ilalim ng programang ROTC na sila Seth Lopez, Arthur Salero, Willy Amihoy, at Mark Welson Chua, ang mga kaso ng sekswal na pang-aabuso, at ang kawalang hustisya sa mga salarin nito, ay isang ebidensiya kung gaano kabulok ang programa ng ROTC,” Flores added.
According to the official statement of the UP Office of the Student Regent, the state should first answer to the cries for justice for those victimized by the abuses embedded in the ROTC program as manifested in high-profile cases throughout the years.
Iggy Lami-ing from Pisay and Anakbayan – High School joined the youth protest and talked about the threat posed by the proposed bill in addition to the impending tuition fee increase for private schools.
"Tunay bang makabayan na turuan ang mga menor de edad na maging malupit sa mga mamamayan?" Lami-ing said during his statement.
Also, the bill will try to repeal the NTSP (National Service Training Program) Law which gives students the free option to choose on what service programs they will take and their right to choose how they will show their nationalism in-service training.
ROTC as optional is a mistake
Meanwhile, according to Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, one of the principal authors of the bill, the Congress committed a mistake when it passed a law making the ROTC program optional as a “knee-jerk” response to the death of Mark Chua who exposed the corrupt ROTC system in the University of Santo Tomas back in 2001.
“It was the act of Congress that abolished the ROTC. Perhaps, Congress does make mistakes. One of the biggest blunders of Congress was to make ROTC optional,” Ungab said in a message to Manila Bulletin.
He was pertaining to the Republic Act No. 9163 or the NSTP Act of 2001 which was signed into law on January 23, 2002, that allows college students to choose between ROTC, Literacy Training Service, and Civil Welfare Training Service.
Creation of TWG
The House Committee on Basic Education and Culture, and the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education formed the Technical Working Group (TWG) to synthesize the measures regarding the said bill.
According to Ungad, the creation of TWG is due to the urgent need to revitalize the country’s civil service laws.
“We cannot merely stand still and make do with the current NSTP (National Service Training Program) Law, while our country is swept away by threats of external aggression and terrorism, civil disturbance, and catastrophic natural and man-made disasters,” he said.
Batangas Rep. Raneo Abu Batangas said countermeasures will be put in place to ensure that the Chua incident will not happen again.
According to Abu, the bill includes the creation of Grievance Committee consisting of different educational institutions that will handle the complaints and conduct probation on any allegation of abuse, violence, or corruption in any institution where the ROTC program is implemented.
Edited by Kate Paulyne Tayco