ROTC revival talks sparks debate in Congress

From the Manila Bulletin (Jun 17): ROTC revival talks sparks debate in Congress

The defense department has sparked a debate on its proposal to revive the mandatory military training for college students.

While congressmen belonging to the Committees on National Defense and on Higher Education are strongly backing the Department of Defense bid to conduct military training for the youth, the youth group Anakbayan rejected it.

Reps. Mark Llandro Mendoza (NPC, Batangas), Amado Bagatsing (LP, Manila); Jose Cari (LP, Leyte) and Winston Castelo (LP, Quezon City) believe that there is a strong reason to include the Reserve Officers Training Corps training in all college curriculum.

Castelo called for a change in the country’s national security program to include requiring the mandatory military draft of men and women who reach the age of 18.

“Part of that proposal will be the ROTC revival. As a national security doctrine, we have to develop the capability to inflict lethal blows to the enemy,” stated Castelo.

However, Mendoza said reforms must first be put in place before ROTC is re-introduced in university studies.

“For starters, there should be stricter rules to stop hazing and extortion that were among the reasons why ROTC training was abolished,” said Mendoza, a ROTC officer in college.

He also suggested that ROTC as a subject be reformatted to include hours devoted for disaster prevention and relief operations training.

It will be recalled that mandatory ROTC was abolished in 2001 in reaction to nationwide protest among students and school administrators that was triggered by the hazing death of ROTC cadet Mark Chua of the University of Sto. Tomas.

“ROTC should be revived to help instil discipline among our youth. They should also be made part of the response group for disaster and calamities,” said Bagatsing.

On the other hand, Cari agreed that bribery, extortion and violence are the main concerns that should be addressed if colleges students will be required to undergo  ROTC training.

Meanwhile, the youth group Anakbayan assailed the move to bring back military training for college students.

"There's a reason why it was scrapped in the first place. It's like the appendix in our bodies: serves no purpose or benefit for students, and in fact it even harms them, both physically and non-physically" said Anakbayan chairperson Vencer Crisostomo.
Crisostomo recalled that then president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo scrapped ROTC training following the death of Chua.

"ROTC is esssentially the militarization of campuses. It allows the Armed Forces to circumvent prohibitions of their presence in schools, they recruit 'assets' to spy and terrorize student leaders, and their training reduces students to the zombie-like military mindset of 'shoot first, ask questions later'" said Crisostomo.

He added: "The way officers humiliate, brutalize, and even maim cadets in the guise of 'training' is nothing short of the violation of basic human rights.”

“Also, the ROTC program is a haven for corruption, with officers and teachers making money out of the students who have been bludgeoned into submission" Crisostomo stated.

http://mb.com.ph/News/National_News/17631/ROTC_revival_talks_sparks_debate_in_Congress#.Ub8cRY7D8cA