SENATOR Ronald Bato dela Rosa presided over the resumption of the public hearing of the Subcommittee on Higher Technical and Vocation Education Monday, February 6, 2023, on the proposed reinstatement of the mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC).

During the hearing, Dela Rosa allayed fears that the renewed ROTC program would focus only on “militarism ideology.”

“The ROTC program is not wholly dedicated to militaristic policies. There will also be disaster preparedness and response, moral values, personal discipline, adherence to the Constitution, and respect for human rights, among others. All of these will be included in the ROTC program, not only militarism,” Dela Rosa clarified.

CHED (Commission on Higher Education) Chairperson Prospero de Vera presented to the subcommittee the findings of the commission’s analysis on the proposed reinstatement of the mandatory ROTC, where he raised the issue of “administrative requirements” of expanding ROTC to thousands of 1st-year and 2nd-year tertiary students in the 2,424 higher education institutions in the Philippines.

He also cited the need for a better curriculum to implement the program better and maximize the country’s existing resources.

For his part, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said the ROTC program does not intend to train students to become full-time soldiers.

“What we envisioned here is to provide basic training to college students, meaning these students have already progressed from basic education to higher education. So they will have the mental wherewithal to be trained with basic ROTC training,” Gatchalian explained.

Secretary Carlito Galvez of the Department of National Defense (DND), who also attended the hearing, said the DND strongly supports the reinstitution of the ROTC program as a mandatory component in all public and private tertiary education and in technical and vocational schools.

Galvez said the revival of ROTC will further “motivate, train, organize, and mobilize” the students for national defense preparedness, including disaster preparedness and capacity building for risk-related situations.

“We in the DND will give the ROTC program premium officers who will ensure that the AFP will put the best among the qualified, and we will professionalize the handling of the ROTC,” the defense chief said.

Sen. Francis Tolentino maintained that having a “good education is not a requirement” for military training, but it can go hand in hand.

“Basic Education is not a requirement to love your country. It is not required that you have a high grade in algebra or even in basic English. To love your country should be inherent as a Filipino,” Tolentino said.

Sen. Robinhood Padilla, for his part, reminds the youth about the importance of military training in ensuring the country’s preparedness for any threat or eventuality.

Padilla pointed out that the Philippines has been at war many times.

“Thus, it is very important to prepare the youth to make sure the Philippines is not conquered. My suggestion is to let our youth be prepared for anything that may come because, historically, we have not quite rested from war. We may have had years of peace, but the threat is still there,” Padilla said.

He added, “I have only one reminder. This is why we are returning this ROTC so that we will not be under any foreign power. We must be independent. We will not be commanded by any foreign country, and we are doing this to defend our independence, our freedom, and above all, we are all Filipinos.”