Reserve Officers’ Training Corps Should Not Be Made Mandatory

"Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC)" is a program institutionalized under

Sections 38 and 39 of Republic Act No. 7077, otherwise known as the “Citizen Armed

Forces of the Philippines Reservist Act,” designed to provide military training to tertiary

level students in order to motivate, train, organize and mobilize them for national

defense preparedness. It started in the Philippines in 1912, when the Philippine

Constabulary commenced with military instruction at the University of the Philippines

where the first official ROTC unit in the country was also established in 1922. Back

then, the primary pool of manpower for the reservist organization and of the Armed

Forces of the Philippines are graduates of ROTC basic and advanced courses. The

program, for decades, was a compelling aspect affecting the lives of youth, especially

those who went in pursuit of tertiary education until 2001. (insert footnote 1 and 2)

At present, Senate Bill No. 2232 or the “Senior High School Reserve Officers

Training Corps Act” is pending for second reading. Counterpart bill in the lower house is

also being proposed under House Bill No. 8961. The bills, although filed independently,

seek to mandate ROTC to be a compulsory requirement for Grades 11 and 12 in public

and private educational institutions that shall serve as vital role for the youth in nation

building, promote civic consciousness, inculcate patriotism and nationalism and

encourage involvement in public and civic affairs. It also claimed to enhance the

capacity of the state to produce the needed manpower and to expand its human

resources in times of war, calamities and disasters, national or local emergencies and to

aid in support to the Government’s law enforcement strategy against crimes by creating

pool of trained reservist.

 In our view of the current standing of the said bills, we oppose that ROTC should

be mandatory. Mandatory ROTC is against the principles of the International

Humanitarian Law and will only lead to possible abuse and corruption of minors to the

powers granted by such bill.(insert footnote 3) We strongly believe that there are

alternative programs that could instill the same values to the youth.

ROTC: Hotbed of abuse and corruption – a potential danger to the youth

ROTC must be abolished to stop mercenary traditions of the military and

Philippine army inside universities and colleges. The use of campuses as military

training grounds are inconsistent with International Humanitarian Law and treaties and

is also in violation to Republic Act No. 7610 or the “Special Protection of Children

Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act”. Inherent practices and traditions in

the said program impart violence and culture of impunity as well as inculcates the

military culture of corruption and political patronage, sexism and machismo, human

rights violations, and ideological bigotry, which is inconsistent with academic freedom

and is detrimental to the development of the youth.(insert footnote 4)

In 2001, a student and cadet officer in the University of Sto. Tomas, Mark Welson

Chua, was brutally murdered by a ROTC official, after he exposed the alleged

corruption and abuse inside the program.(insert footnote 5) This event led to the

amendment of RA 7707 and eventually the enactment of RA 9163. 1 But even in the

optional ROTC, students from different universities reported the violence and hazing

through ROTC in 2004 and 2014.

Contravention on the Philippine Constitution and International Humanitarian Law

1
Pangalanan, Raul. “Mandatory ROTC? Remember Mark Chua”, Philippine Daily Inquirer, August 6, 2010.
 In Section 13, Article 2 of the 1987 Constitution, the word mandatory is the

operative word that divides the idea if we will impose or nurture to the development of

the youth the following principles that we wanted to inculcate that even the constitution

does not mandate. Relative to this, as provided in Section 12, Article 2 of the 1987

Constitution, the parents have the natural and primary duty for the youth to develop civic

consciousness and with the NSTP program in place, it is deemed sufficient for their

development. (insert footnote 6)

ROTC violates the principles of the International Humanitarian Law Rules 22 to

24 of putting civilian, especially those who are not in the age of majority, in military

training. Civilian authority is, at all times, supreme over military. 2 The program shall still

remain optional at all cost as it will be doing away to a peace-building education as

promoted by the state.3

The Social Action Program

In 2001, Bayan Muna representative Liza Masa introduces a bill seeking the

creation of the Social Action Program (SAP) and the abolition of the ROTC. SAP

introduces activities that include advocacy program, anti-drug abuse campaigns,

community immersion, ecological services, human rights education, informal literacy

programs, medical trainings, and rescue and relief operations, which are adjacent to the

aims of the bills and can be a replacement for the proposed basic ROTC Program.

2
Section 3, Article II of the 1987 Constitution
3
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1124556/mandatory-rotc-for-shs-students-violates-intl-law-hontiveros
 Moreover, if one of the bills is passed, the budget allocations as provided therein

will cost the government about Php38B a year, almost at par with free tuition law of

Php40B annually, which had been previously tagged as “too costly”. 4

The love for country: Patriotism, Nationalism and Respect for Human Rights

As Filipinos, it is really frightening that in order to promote nationalism and

patriotism, we are encouraged to build our youth with mandatory militariansm. The

hopes of better development and reservists’ program of the country relies on

volunteerism and free willing of the people’s initiative, not on mandating to instill it in

their well-being. By imprinting fear on the youths, it will only promote war rather than

instilling or improve one’s love for his or her country. If the government really aims to

promote such values, they should focus on retelling our history precisely and from there

create programs that will retrace the initiatives of once youth who catered for the

achievement of our bureaucracy. Making ROTC mandatory is not the solution; but

rather, a total overhaul of the current educational system is needed.

Endnotes:

[1] - Republic Act No. 9163 January 23, 2002

[2] - https://varsitarian.net/special-reports/20180318/family-still-hopes-for-

justice-seventeen-years-after-mark-welson-chuas-death (varsitarian- case of mark

nelson chua)

4
https://www.rappler.com/nation/238310-gatchalian-estimated-cost-rotc-bill-government
 https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2018/11/27/ROTC-abolition-knee-jerk-

reaction-Congress-biazon.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlEH60ktqto

[3] - https://www.philstar.com/campus/2014/03/25/1304938/pup-expels-rotc-

cadet-officers-hazing

[4] - https://www.simplypsychology.org/zimbardo.html

[5] - Sec. 13, Art 2 of the 1987 Constitution

[6] - Sec. 12, Art 2 of the 1987 Constitution

[7] - Rule 22 International Humanitarian Law

[8] - Rule 23 International Humanitarian Law

[9] - Rule 24 International Humanitarian Law

[10] - https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1124556/mandatory-rotc-for-shs-students-

violates-intl-law-hontiveros

[11] - Section 5, Senate Bill no. 2232

[12] - https://www.rappler.com/nation/238310-gatchalian-estimated-cost-rotc-bill-

government

Sources:

1. Syjuco, José G. (1977). Military Education in the Philippines. New Day Publishers.

2. 8th Congress of the Republic to the Philippines. "RA 7077". Retrieved 28 June 2013.
3. The Varsitarian. (December 16, 1999) Special Report. In The Line Of Fire. Struggle Against the
System.
4. 17th Congress of the Republic of the Philippines. House Resolution No. 2475. Supporting the
unity statement of various student and youth leaders and formations against the implementation
of mandatory ROTC in senior high school.
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlEH60ktqto
6. The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines
7. 17th Congress of the Republic of the Philippines. House Resolution No. 2475. Supporting the
unity statement of various student and youth leaders and formations against the implementation
of mandatory ROTC in senior high school.