Reinstatement of mandatory ROTC training for Grade 11 and 12 students

ROTC. It may not sound like something that we, as youths, care about or is familiar with.
Well, personally, I am not. The implementation of mandatory ROTC back in those years had
already stopped before we were even born making us, the students of Senior High of today,
oblivious of what ROTC is. But there are news about these this past year as well as today that
makes us want to be concerned and informed about this specially that we are at the core of this
issue.
So, what is ROTC? Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) is one of three components of
the National Service Training Program (NSTP), it is the public education and defense
preparedness program for Filipino students. The ROTC classes may include officer-ship,
leadership, military history, organization and tactics. ROTC student-cadets receive basic military
training and officer training. The students participate in regular ROTC instruction during the
school year, and extended training activities during the summer. They’ll also have to pass
regular physical fitness tests and train with peers in “PT” sessions.
It was approved by our President Rodrigo Duterte, after thorough discussion with
members of the Cabinet, that the ROTC will be implemented once again and this time, on the
Grades 11 and 12. ROTC used to be mandatory until year 2002 when the National Service
Training Program Act of 2001 was approved giving the students selections to sign up either in
ROTC, Civil Welfare Training Services, or Literacy Training Services. This was because there were
reports that ROTC was being used for corruption and abuse, the brutal death of a cadet galling
in the UST. But in the reimplementation of ROTC, the President guaranteed that the ROTC is
different from the former ROTC in the wake of corruption. They would ensure that this would
serve as a lesson learned in the previous ROTC program.

Many Army official supports this as they believe that this would help to develop
personal traits such as leadership, self- discipline, and patriotism. As Maj. Ezra Balagtey, Eastern
Mindanao Command spokesperson, have said, “We support the President’s plan as part of the
reserve development. The program should be implemented taking into consideration the
lessons learned in the previous ROTC program. ROTC will help us, achieving the real objective
and purpose, by way of promoting patriotism and instilling discipline to these students”.
Colonel Gregory Dosil, group commander of the 4th Cordillera Regional Community Defense
Group, also stated, “We are making the ROTC program a relevant endeavor. We would like our
youth to enroll in ROTC for them to learn a lot. We will be molding you to be more disciplined
citizens and good future leaders of our country.”
This implementation of ROTC both has its positives and negatives. With the change this
world has brought us upon, elders would say that kids today are way too different from before,
and the advancing technology doesn’t give much help to this. Ages of crime committers has
reached the teenaged. This has been the main reason why many supports the
reimplementation of ROTC. ROTC program helps students to build and strengthen the
principles of teamwork, team-building skills and brotherhood among each other. These traits
that are slowly fading in the next Filipinos.
If I were to be asked of my opinion with regards to this, I would be on its affirmative
side. This implementation would be beneficial and would be a nice shot of change in this
country. There are many people who would oppose to this program because of varied reason
they have but I see this as an opportunity that we must take.
As youth, I encourage my fellow youth to broaden our minds in this matter. If we could
only see through the bright side of this, you would see that this is an advantageous step
towards change. ROTC would provide us, students, with military education and training to
mobilize us for national defense preparedness. This would give us the chance to serve the
country with the ROTC program’s reimplementation. This might not mean a lot to some people
but it is for our Inang Bayan. The country would need us, in case of warfare. Consequently,
there has been a lot of violence happening today, ROTC would help us be prepared and/or safe
from such violent acts. This would make us mentally and physically prepared to face danger.
The discipline the ROTC would give us, as for me, to lessen our much dependence to comfort
that the modern years has brought us. Most of us surfs the net all day up to night, the tardiness
this has brought, the addiction to gaming and much more. This would help build ourselves for
the long making.