HEADQUARTERS

MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY-ILIGAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY SCIENCE AND TACTICS
RESERVE OFFICER TRAINING CORPS UNIT
1002ND (LDN) CDC, 10TH RCDG, ARESCOM
A. Boniacio Avenue, 9200 Iligan City

PHILIPPINE MILITARY HISTORY

a) The Commonwealth of the Philippines was invaded by the Empire of

Japan in December 1941 shortly after Japan's declaration of war upon the United States
of America, which controlled the Philippines at the time and possessed important
military bases there. The combined American-Filipino army was defeated by April 1942,
but guerrilla resistance against the Japanese continued throughout the war.

b) Uncaptured Filipino army units, a communist insurgency and supporting

American agents all played a role in the resistance. Due to the huge number of islands,
the Japanese did not occupy them all. Japanese control over the countryside and
smaller towns was often tenuous at best.

Allied forces liberated the islands from Japanese control in 1944, in a naval invasion.

The Japanese decide to attack

Advancing Japanese troops moving toward Manila.

The Japanese viewed all the lands of Asia to be the rightful property of the Imperial
Japanese Government and the Emperor. The land invasion of Korea, China and parts
of Russia, which had begun at the turn of the 20th century, had been taking an upswing.
The Japanese had been kept from realizing their goal of unifying or dominating the
Asian lands by the presence of foreign military forces in the Philippines (United States),
Hong Kong, Malaysia (United Kingdom) and the Dutch East Indies. Japan had hoped
that they could strike fast and hold off reinforcements long enough to broker a peace
accord from a position of strength such as they had done during the Russo Japanese
War.

Central to the Japanese goals was the taking of all Asian lands. To be successful US,
UK, and Dutch forces were to be attacked simultaneously to prevent their ability to
reinforce and aid their Asian possessions. Pivotal to the Japanese decision to attack
was a tremendous need for crude oil as a result of economic sanctions imposed by the
United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands which was weakening the
Japanese economy. The Japanese leaders were faced with a choice: end the war in
China and their plans for Asian conquest, so as to end the sanctions, or declare war on
three large military forces. The current war against Britain, and Holland, and the strain
of providing aid by the United States to these countries was seen as an opportunity by
the Japanese to extend their "rightful" place as a ruler in Asia.

The Japanese government decided to seize resources under the control of Britain, the
United States and the Netherlands. Japan had already placed over ten divisions in
Formosa (Taiwan). Japanese military planners argued that the British (and the USSR
should they decide to declare war), would be unable to effectively respond to a
Japanese attack, given the threat posed by the Third Reich.

c. HISTORY AND ROLE RESERVE OFFICER TRAINING CORPS

(ROTC)

The Philippine Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) is a military program

for all young college students. They are specifically designed to train young students
solely for defense preparation for the country. Their goal is to teach all trainees problem
solving, military discipline, systematic planning, proper ethics while developing
leadership skills.

History

It was in 1862 when ROTC was first established in the United States as a college
elective that focuses in military training and discipline. Being predominant on this field,
all countries that were connected with the Unites States followed the same program.
This includes the Republic of the Philippines.

It was at the brink of the second world war in the year 1912 when American
Forces dominated the Philippines. It was in the University of the Philippines when they
established their first unit. Even after the colonization of the United States, ROTC
program remained as a college elective for all Filipino students.
Republic Act No. 9163

In 2001, under the Philippine Republic Act No. 9163, ROTC was lawfully
declared as The National Service Training Program (NSTP). The law states that it is the
citizen's primary duty to serve and protect its country. Since the youth plays a crucial
role to the nation's growth, the government stated that all young citizens are
encouraged to undergo military training to promote patriotism, nationalism and social
awareness. Its main purpose is to heighten the youth's civic consciousness and to
ensure proper defense training in preparation to serve the country at any time.

To effectively implement this, three important factors have been made.

 ROTC program will start to provide military training to students in their third year
of college.
 All trainees are required to undergo a “Literacy Training Service” from which they
will be taught how to be effective teachers in basic reading and math. Their main
purpose is to help all out of school youth and illiterate children.
 All trainees are required to undergo “Civic Welfare Training Service.” They are
taught how to improve their environment, safety, health, values, etc.