Mandatory ROTC:The Underlying Malfeasance [ on point ]

(Pearl Angelie Ybanez)

One of the few demands of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. since being seated as the Philippines’ head of state is to reinstate and implement the mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) among senior high school and college students.He explains that this aims to train, organize, and mobilize students for national defense preparedness. This also includes the Citizenship Training Program (CTP), which enhances learners’ social responsibility and resilience. In addition, some cabinet officials believe and argue that this has good intentions and other goals such as instilling nationalism, perseverance, discipline, leadership, loyalty, and the like.

Regardless, there are still innumerable hesitations. Questions are raised, disputes are breaking out, and citizens of all ages are in constant doubt about the program considering its corrupt history. The history that every one of the people in the government knows of, even the ones who never completed a college degree in the Philippines (or any country, for that matter) that mandates ROTC.

In accordance, one of the thousand discourses arrayed by the people includes confusion regarding the constant praise and the implementation of the program despite not be- ing able to experience it and its immoral history. This dubiety grows to rage when the once-optional training now being urged to be mandatory gets into the picture.

The reason? Having to force this kind of training on students who would probably be left juggling the program and their academic responsibilities would be stripping them of their basic rights to choose and decide for themselves.

Instead of implementing this program, the government of the Philippines should focus on the improvement of the country’s educational and