NSTP 101 REVIEWER

EVOLUTION OF NSTP

The Philippine constitution provides that the defense of the state is a prime duty of the
government and the people, and in fulfillment of this duty, all citizens may be required by law
to render personal military or civil service.

In further states that it is the duty of the citizen to contribute to our country’s development in
the attainment and preservation of a just and orderly society.

 The National Service Training Program (NSTP) Act of 2001 mandates all citizens, both
male and female, to fulfill this civic duty.

Responding to the urgent needs of our developing country today and in the foreseeable future,
it is equally vital to develop and enhance civic consciousness among the young generation to
ensure national security and development.

NSTP, therefore, enables the youth, as the most valuable resource of the Filipino nation, to be
motivated, developed and utilized in regard to their responsibilities as citizens and fulfillment of
their civil obligations.

 The imposition of national program for service and training the youth in the Philippines
began with the creation of Commonwealth Act No. 1, otherwise known as National
Defense Act.

National Defense Act.

- It is a legislative Act providing basis for national defense of the country, punishing
certain violations thereof, appropriating funds therefore and for other purposes under
the government of Pres. Manuel L. Quezon in 1935.
- The same law that required college students, particularly males to finish two years,
equivalent to 4 semesters, of military training as a modality to institutionalize the
reservist system in the Philippine national defense.

In 1980, the National Defense Act was amended to give existence to Presidential Decree No.
1706, otherwise known as the National Service Law. It mandated compulsory national service
to all Filipino citizens.

It was composed of three main program components namely:

 Civic Welfare Service (CWS)

 Law Enforcement Service (LES)
  Military Service (MS)

College students were given an option to choose one from among these components in
compliance with these requirements for tertiary education.

 The implementation of the National Service Law, except the provision of Military Service
was suspended by Presidential Memorandum. Order No. 1. under the incumbency of
former Pres. Corazon Aquino, paving away for the conceptualization of the Reserve
Officer Corps (ROTC).
 It embodied under the Rep. Act No. 7077 (The Citizen Armed Forces of the Philippines
Reservist Law), effective school year 1986-1987.

ROTC program aimed to realize the constitutional mandate of developing a strong civilian base
to supplement the professional military in the nation’s defense system. It was designed to
initiate the ROTC trainees in the rudiments of soldiership, instilling in them discipline and
correct deportment.

The objective of ROTC, to train all able-bodied tertiary students for military skills in case of war,
It cannot disputed, however, that the law on mandatory military training for male Filipino
students that existed for more than sixty years (60).

Unfortunately, it was tainted with anomalies and irregularities in the advent of the post-Marcos
era that culminated to unprecedented death of UST ROTC cadet officer Mark Welson Chua for
alleged anomalies of some erring ROTC officials in 2001, thus defeating the purpose upon
which this military training program was anchored in.

As a way to offer an alternative in neutralizing people’s aversion to this military program during
the SY 2001-2002, ROTC was only made optional under the National Service Program (NSP),
conceiving the so-called Expanded ROTC (E-ROTC)

(SY 2001-2002) In view of the options, it gave the students the choice, among the following
components, Military Service (MS), Civic Welfare (CWS) And Law Enforcement Service (LES).

Many, if not all of the Higher Education Institutions, found the enforcement of NSP confusing
and unmanageable though. Hence, December 2001, the NSTP Act, envisioned to address public
clamor for reforms in the ROTC and NSTP Programs, was signed into Law by then Pres. Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo as an aggressive modality toward making the former national service
training that is military in nature, relevant to the changing needs of the time.

The MAIN OBJECTIVE of NSTP is:

  to stress the significant role played by youth, male and female alike, in the task of
developing our nation via national service training.
 To develop the youth to become civic or military leaders and volunteers through a
modified, re-structured and reinforced training package whom could be called upon by
the nation in cases their services are needed and in the event of disasters or
emergencies.

Compared with ROTC, the NSTP Act ensured that three components- CWTS, LTS and ROTC, are
given the same and equal implementation in educational institutions.

The non-military program components of NSTP, that is, the CWTS and LTS are committed to
strengthening the values and traits of the youth, improving skills and knowledge on various
endeavors.

Developing interest in community service and making them responsible for peace and
development to ensure harmony and growth in the Filipino communities.

What is the National Service Training Program Law?

 The NSTP Law as embodied in Republic Act 9163 is a program aimed at enhancing civic
consciousness and defense preparedness in the youth by developing the ethics of
service and patriotism.

What are the components of the NSTP?

a. The Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC)

 is designed to provide military training to tertiary level students in order to motivate, train,
organize, and mobilize them for national defense preparedness.
b. The Literacy Training Service (LTS)
 is designed to train the students to teach literacy and numeracy skills to school children,
out-of-school youth and other segments of society in need of their services.
c. Civic Welfare Training Service (CWTS)
 refers to activities’ contributory to the general welfare and the betterment of life for the
members of the community or the enhancement of its facilities. Especially those
developed to improving health, education, environment entrepreneurship, safety,
recreation and moral of the citizenry and other social welfare services.

Who shall take the NSTP?

 All incoming freshmen students, male and female, enrolled in any baccalaureate and in at
least two (2) year technical-vocational or associate courses, are required to complete one
(1) NSTP component of their choice as graduation requirement.
How will the NSTP be taken up?

 Each of the NSTP components shall be undertaken for an academic period of two (2)
semesters and credited for three (3) units per semesters with 54 hours to 90 training
hours per semester.

What if the NSTP cannot be taken up during the regular semester?

 A one summer – program in lieu of the two (2) semester program maybe designed,
formulated and adopted by DND, CHED and TESDA subject to the capability of the school
and the AFP to handle the same.

What if the NSTP program chosen by a student is not offered in his/her school?

 Schools that do not meet the requires number of students in order to conduct a program
component or do not offer the component chosen by their students shall allow them to
cross-enroll to other schools irrespective, of whether that school is under CHED or TESDA
(Technical Education and Skills Dev’t Authority) and for ROTC, whether they are managed
by different AFP branches of serviced.
 These students however shall be subjected to the existing rules and regulations of their
original school and the accepting school.

Are currently-enrolled students covered by the NSTP?

 Male students currently enrolled but have not taken any program component of the
previous Expanded ROTC (E-ROTC)/ National Service Program (NSP) are covered by the
NSTP.

Will a student who has completed all the academic requirements of his course except ROTC
be allowed to graduate?

 A student who has completed all his academic requirements except ROTC will be
allowed to graduate provided that he is a certified candidate by the school on or before
the effectivity of the NSTP which March 23, 2002.

What if a male student completed two semesters of E-ROTC/NSP?

 He is deemed to have complied with NSTP requirement.

What if a male student has only taken one (1) semester of Basic ROTC and E-ROTC/NSP?

 He shall take one more semester of any of the NSTP components to qualify for
graduation.
What will become of NSTP Graduates?

 Graduates of the non-ROTC components shall belong to the National Service Corps
(NSRC) that could be tapped by the State for literacy and civic welfare activities.
Graduates of the ROTC component shall form only part of the AFP Citizen Armed Force,
subject to DND requirements.

How can a student continue to qualify for enlistment in the AFP Reserve Force?

 He /she may qualify for enlistment in the AFP Reserve Force as long as he/she has
completed the two (2) semesters of Basic ROTC.

How much fee will be charged for NSTP component?

 No fees shall be collected for any of the NSTP component except basic tuition fees,
which should not be more than fifty percent (50%) of the charges of the school per
academic unit.

What student incentives can be provided by the NSTP?

 A program of assistance/incentives for ROTC students from DND which will be in

accordance with existing laws and regulations and subject to the availability of funds.
School authorities concerns, CHED and TESDA shall ensure that health and accident
group insurances are provided to students enrolled in any NSTP components.
 A special scholarship Program for qualified NSTP shall be administered by CHED and
TESDA subject to the availability of funds.

Who is responsible for supervising the NSTP?

 School Authorities shall exercise academic and administrative supervision over the
design, formulation, adoption and implementation of the different NSTP components in
their respective schools.

What lead agencies will monitor the implementation of the NSTP?

 CHED Regional Offices, TESDA Provincial and District Offices and the DND-AFP through
the major Service Reserve Commands and their ROTC Units shall oversee if the trainings
conducted are in consonance with the Republic Act.

Is the NSTP available in all Schools and Universities?

 All Higher and Technical Vocational Educational Institutions shall be offering at least
one (1) NSTP components, while State Universities and colleges will offer the ROTC
component and at least one other NSTP component.
 The NSTP is to stress the significant role played of the youth in the community and to
become civic or military and spirit of volunteerism and the advocacy of unconditional
service with initiative through modified and reinforced training package whom could be
called upon by the nation in cases their services are needed and in the event of
disasters or emergencies.