Student orgs strongly oppose mandatory ROTC revival

Various student organizations have expressed their strong oppositions against the reinstitution of the mandatory Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program in tertiary schools. The College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP)-La Union Chapter, the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) and Kabataan Partylist said that the students are better off without the revival of the mandatory ROTC program.

The different organizations asserted that there were valid reasons why the program was replaced by the National Service Training Program (NSTP) which made it optional and those reasons remain true up to this time.

Kabataan Partylist and other student organizations believes that Rep. Eduardo Gullas’ House Bill 737, which aims to reinstate the mandatory ROTC program for male college students and optional for female students and abolish the National Service Training Program (NSTP) will only mean more problems to students rather than solutions.

The youth sectoral partylist asserts that there is no real reason why the ROTC program should be reinstated as a mandatory program other than to increase the militarization in colleges and universities.

Heightened military presence and repression

In an interview with Lovely Ulpindo, the chairperson of CEGP-La Union Chapter, she said that the revival of the ROTC program may very well lead to the heightened repression against student organizations and bring back the irregularities that ultimately lead to its abolition .

“We have to remember that the ROTC was made optional after the death of Mark Welson Chua way back in 2001 and because of the irregularities in the ROTC implementation. The government is trying to bring a failed and unjust program, “Ulpindo said.

Ulpindo also believes that the revival of the ROTC program will mean intensified military presence in the campuses. Ulpindo alleged that the ROTC program was and is being used by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in their Student Intelligence Network (SIN).

“The College Editors Guild strongly opposes its revival because it will mean greater military presence in the campuses. I am afraid that it may also result to repression of student leaders because of the possibility of the reactivation of the Student Intelligence Network (SIN) as a necessary force for surveillances and other illegal activities.

“Do we want another Mark Chua to make us realize that the ROTC should be rightfully abolished?” , Ulpindo added.

Kabataan Partylist Representative Raymond Palatino said through a press statement that the ROTC must instead be scrapped as it is being used to harass progressive student groups critical of the government.

“The AFP uses the program in its red-baiting campaign against progressive student groups. In many ROTC lectures, soldier-instructors conveniently tagged student activist groups as affiliated with the New People’s Army. The ROTC is clearly a threat to academic freedom,” he said.

Revival will reverse students’ gains

Kabataan Partylist. Rep. Palatino said that proposed revival would “reverse and disregard the gains of the students in their fight against an unjust military training”.

The ROTC was abolished in 2001 as a result of nationwide protests from students and victims of harassment and extortion following the death of University of Santo Tomas student and ROTC cadet Mark Welson Chua from alleged ROTC “hazing”.

In December 2000, COCC cadets Mark Welson Chua and Romulo Yumul filed a complaint before the Department of National Defense alleging corruption, extortion and hazing in the University of Santo Tomas (UST)-ROTC unit.

On March 16, Mark Welson Chua was reported missing and on March 18 his body wrapped in big red carpet was discovered floating in the Pasig River near Jones Bridge. His head was reportedly wrapped with silver packaging tape, his hands tied with shoestring while his legs bound by packaging tape.

On April 30, then AFP Chief of Staff General Diomedio Villanueva and then DECS Secretary Raul Roco vow to work for the immediate abolition of the ROTC.

ROTC is not needed to teach patriotism to students

Palatino also disputed the bill’s claim that the AFP-ran program would teach the students how to be patriotic.

“The ROTC has taught its cadets how to become blind and docile servants. With its grim and bloody human rights record, the AFP has no right to meddle with the academic affairs of our youth. A war-mongering and mercenary institution must not be allowed to infiltrate schools and teach students,” he said.

Einstein Recedes, national chairperson of the National Union of Students in the Philippines (NUSP) in an interview also rejected the argument that a mandatory ROTC program is needed to teach students patriotism and discipline. He said that the AFP through the ROTC program will only teach students blind obedience and will not necessary teach them patriotism.

Moreover he said that ROTC will teach the contrary to students citing the AFP’s human right records

“A quick glance at the human rights violations of the military and the corrupt practices within it is enough to negate the claim that ROTC will cultivate good citizenry among the youth. The youth who practice good citizenry by asserting the democratic rights of the people are surveilled and harassed in schools. Countless others have already been killed by reported military members,” he said.

Focus on strengthening NSTP instead

Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raymond Palatino said he intends to file a bill against the mandatory ROTC proposal which will instead focus on the strengthening of the community service components of the National Service Training Program (NSTP).

According to Palatino, the proposal to make ROTC mandatory under the pretext of the need for an active citizenry and nation service ignores the fact that there is a current NSTP program with service components: Literacy Training Service (LTS) and Community Welfare Training Service (CWTS).

“The youth should appreciate volunteerism and love of country without the unnecessary initiation to fascistic military tradition,” says the youth solon.

Under the LTS, the youth are trained to be literacy and numeracy teachers to younger students, out-of-school youths in communities, indigenous people and other sectors in the society who needs their instructional assistance while the CWTS implements programs that address the social services of the people in the community such as the enhancement of facilities intended for improving health, education, environment, entrepreneurship, safety, recreation and morals of the citizenry.

Palatino’s proposal will contain specifications which will include in the NSTP curriculum disaster preparedness trainings, hands-on teaching in communities, medical missions, and livelihood trainings among others.

“If the AFP urges that we need more machinery for disaster response and relief operations, then we should make that as a major component of the NSTP, in fact, some schools at present teach disaster preparedness trainings under NSTP,” said Palatino.

“Ultimately, the service training program should be an enlightening and empowering experience which will breed nationalism among our youth and genuine intent to serve the poor and oppressed. The ROTC obviously failed in that aspect during the time of its implementation; it bred hatred, corruption, violence and docility. There is no reason to revive it,” he said.