PRESIDENT Duterte, in February 2017, approved the proposal to revive the mandatory nature of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC).
This time, however, Duterte wants it for senior high school students for public and private schools.
The bill is now in the Lower House of the Philippine Congress and is being rushed for approval to revive the ROTC training program.
Debate is still ongoing if ROTC will be for college or senior high students. But with the thumbs up of the President for sure the bill would pass through congress without hassle.
I took up one semester of ROTC when I started college at the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos in Bacolod City in 1984. Almost all students did not want ROTC because of the sacrifices the cadets underwent.
The entire Sundays were wasted under the heat of the sun just learning how to march. I was lucky I got recruited to the play in the UNO-R brass band. Unfortunately, there was no brass band because there were no instruments.
We were told to bring our own instruments. I played the tuba in high school so I know how to read notes and play the instrument. But where would I get the tuba? Anyhow, we were told to just wait as there were some instruments coming.
One semester passed but still no instruments. We were envied as we spent most of the time sitting down under the shades while the rest of the cadets where learning how to march under the heat of the sun. The following semester, there were still no instruments. I got bored and dropped the subject and spent my Sundays playing basketball.
In 1985 I was sent back by my parents to Cebu to stay with my grand father and enrolled at the University of San Jose-Recoletos. USJ-R took ROTC very seriously. The school was the No. 1 ROTC training school in the Cebu and has become a Hall of Fame awardee in the ROTC tactical inspection contest among schools in the region.
I detested being under the heat of the sun every Sunday and having those crazy white side wall army haircuts. I really wanted to graduate and have a diploma and a career with the Cebu media. I had no choice but to enrol the ROTC course during my junior and senior year as a college student.
We were placed in the 1st platoon and considered as senior citizens. We were the 20-year-olds among teenagers. Our platoon leader and most of the officers were younger than us. I was appointed platoon Sergeant and took over the platoon every time our platoon leader was called for a meeting.
I only had two commands every time they asked me to take over. It was “Sitdown” and “Rest”. We enjoyed our platoon. We enjoyed being together telling stories the whole day under the sun. We were band of brothers without arms.
The best part was when we were asked to guard the Sinulog parade. Some of my platoon mates brought Tanduay Rhum placed inside the aluminium army water flask. It was passed around. By 4 p.m. half of the platoon were drunk and by 4:30 p.m. our platoon leader (bless him) was dead drunk he could no longer stand. He was suspended later.
I learned camaraderie during my ROTC years at USJ-R. I gained friends for life during those short stint. I loved the stupid stories and foolishness we shared together.
However, in two years that I took up ROTC I never experienced handling a gun. Most of the time we were just taught how to march as a platoon, as a company and then as a battalion. We were supposed to be reserves in the armed forces but we never saw a single real gun during those years.
I would bat for the return of ROTC if students are taught real soldiering during hot Sundays, not only marching. If the students are taught how to use the armalite or a pistol or basic self defence, at least they could be used in case China invades us.
ROTC was abolished after UST student Mark Wilson Chua was found dead floating in Pasig river. Chua was a member of the UST ROTC Unit. He was killed after he reported an account of alleged corruption within the UST ROTC Unit. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) later found out that members of the UST ROTC Unit were responsible for his death. The suspects were later arrested and one of them was sentenced to death later.
Corruption is everywhere in the government, military, private sector and even the churches and the ROTC program was not exempted.
The signs that the ROTC program will be back to burden the students again are already as clear as an HD movie in Netflix. The Department of National Defense (DND) or the Department of Education (DepEd) or whoever would implement this program should make sure students would really learn real soldiering not only marching or else it will again be another waste of time just like the Senior High School. (l.biantan@gmail.com)