Death of Mark Chua

Mark Welson Chua (died sometime between 15–18 March 2001) was a Filipino student of the University of Santo Tomas whose death is widely believed to be linked to his exposé of alleged irregularities in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps unit of the university. His death became the catalyst for the passage of Republic Act 9163 or the "National Service Training Program Law", which removed completion of mandatory ROTC as a precondition for graduation for male college students in the Philippines.

Background

Chua took his elementary and high school education at Saint Jude Catholic School and his college education at the University of Santo Tomas. As a member of the ROTC unit's intelligence monitoring team, he had first-hand knowledge of corruption within the organization, which he and another student, Romulo Yumol, divulged to UST's official student publication The Varsitarian in January 2001. This resulted in the relief of then-commandant Major Demy Tejares and his staff.

Death