As the repeated tensions in the West Philippine Sea continue to simmer, newly installed Senate Majority Floor leader Francis Tolentino said he is hopeful that his bill seeking to revive the Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (ROTC) for Filipino students in the country will be signed into law soon.
Tolentino, who was in Bacolod City on Sunday, May 26, for the opening of the ROTC Games Visayas Qualifying Leg, said the ROTC program could very well serve its part in the country’s national defense program while instilling a deep sense of patriotism, nationalism, and discipline among the youth.
He said the bill is now pending at the plenary, but with the changes (Senate leadership) made recently, they can move forward with it because it is also a priority measure of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., the restoration of the mandatory ROTC.
“It will be mandatory, it will have components concerning disaster management and traffic control. It’s more about civics, so it’s not just military training, it’s a complete package,” he added.
Tolentino noted that it will bring impact in the repeated tensions in the West Philippine Sea.
“Based on the reactions of our youth on social media, they don’t like what’s happening now in the West Philippine Sea,” Tolentino said.
He said ROTC is an effective way to foster teamwork, discipline, and patriotism, potent tools that can effectively hone productive citizens and future leaders of the country.
Tolentino’s Senate Bill 1565 seeks to establish a mandatory two-year Basic Military and Police Training program for students in college.
Exempted from Tolentino’s measure are varsity players, individuals deemed psychologically or physically unfit by certified military or police medical officers, as well as those considered to be exempted from training by the Defense Department or the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Students who opt out of the program will not be able to graduate.
Tolentino disclosed that ROTC in the Philippines began in 1912. It was scrapped in 2002 after Republic Act 9163, or the National Service Training Program Act (NSTP) of 2001, was enacted in response to the call to change the ROTC program.*