Catapang, Mary Chris M.

Catubig, Sheryl
Dimayuga, Fatima
Macasaet, Andrei

Bills, Laws, Opponents

• Senate Bill No. 2232, which seeks to revive the mandatory Reserve Officers' Training Corps
(ROTC), requires the students enrolled in Grade 11 and Grade 12 to be part of the program.
Kung gayon, mariin kaming hindi sumasang-ayon sapagkat nilalabag nito ang Optional Protocol
to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, isang protocol kung saan partido
ang Pilipinas.

• Child Rights Network (CRN) believes that bringing back the ROTC program is not necessary
and may only expose children to developing various risk behaviors. ang pagpapakilala ng
mandatoryong pagsasanay sa militar para sa mga mag-aaral sa senior high school ay katumbas
ng pagtanggi ng bansa sa mga umiiral na internasyonal na pangako sa proteksyon ng mga bata
mula sa sapilitang pagrerekrut sa sandatahang lakas. sa oras na nasa kasagsagan ng kanilang
pagbibinata ang mga mag-aaral, ay maaari ring maging bulnerable sa kanila sa pagbuo ng iba't
ibang risk behavior na sensitibo sa masama at negatibong mga karanasan na maaaring
makaapekto sa kanila sa buong buhay nila.

• According to Youth groups, it's better for the government to strengthen the existing National
Service Training Program, where students are given the choice between ROTC, civic welfare
training service, and literacy training service. Ayon kay Justine Luis Balane, tagapangulo ng
Akbayan Youth, “Anuman ang piliin ng mga estudyante – ROTC man, Civic Welfare Training
Service, o Literacy Training Service — lahat ng iyon ay mga anyo ng pagpapakita ng pagmamahal
sa bayan. Ang kabataan ay dapat malayang pumili kung paano nila gustong pagsilbihan ang
kanilang inang bayan,”. He argued that the government should only strengthen the existing
National Service Training Program (NSTP) so students would have options choosing which
program they are best fit for – ROTC, the Civic Welfare Training Service (CWTS), or the Literacy
Training Service (LTS).

• For the student council officers and representatives, the government should prioritize
providing facilities to schools and ensuring safety in the resumption of in-person classes.

• Kasabay nito, sinabi ni Kabataan party-list Representative Sarah Elago na inaprubahan ng

Committee on Basic Education and Culture ang panukalang batas kahit walang kinatawan mula
sa senior high school students, na aniya ay pangunahing stakeholder ng panukala, ang
nakapagbigay ng opinyon sa usapin.

• Ayon kay Rep. France Castro ng ACT-Teachers Partylist, ito umano ay labag sa international
law na pirmahan ng bansa dahil nakasaad doon na hindi pwedeng gamitin ang mga bata sa
anumang mga military exercises and service.

• Sa ilalim ng mga kasunduan sa karapatang pantao, ang mga pamahalaan ay may

pangunahing responsibilidad sa pagprotekta at pagtataguyod ng mga karapatang
pantao. Gayunpaman, ang mga pamahalaan ay hindi lamang responsable para sa pagtiyak ng
mga karapatang pantao. Ang UDHR ay nagsasaad:“Ang bawat indibidwal at bawat organ ng
lipunan … ay magsisikap sa pamamagitan ng pagtuturo at edukasyon na itaguyod ang
paggalang sa mga karapatan at kalayaang ito at sa pamamagitan ng mga progresibong
hakbang, pambansa at internasyonal, upang matiyak ang kanilang pangkalahatan at
epektibong pagkilala at pagtalima.”

• RespectProtectFulfill Ang mga pamahalaan ay hindi dapat mag-alis ng karapatan sa mga tao o
makagambala sa mga taong gumagamit ng kanilang mga karapatan.
• Benhur Queqquegan said Mandatory ROTC would only be a financial burden to students and
parents, from spending on the expected uniform, gears, food, transport and even the additional
tuition and school fees. Higit pa rito, sasayangin lamang nito ang pondo ng bayan.

Surveys

• According to Pulse Asia, they used a sample of 1,200 respondents with 300 individuals
surveyed per region (NCR, balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao).
• Senator Chiz Escudero asked the proponents of Senate Bill 2034 to present a scientific study to
validate that the current National Service Training Program (NSTP) is a "total failure" hence, the
proposal to replace it with the reinstatement of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC)
program.
• It was unclear how many of those surveyed were of college age or if they were students since
the information released by Gatchalian did not include age distribution of the respondents.
dapat itong suportahan ng pormal na pag-aaral at hindi lamang ng ilang impormal na pahayag
mula sa mga pro-ROTC advocates.

Death Cases

• Si Mark ay pinaslang ng kanyang mga kasamahang opisyal ng kadete sa kanilang programa sa

ROTC. Inilantad niya ang mga praktika ng katiwalian, panunuhol at pangingikil sa ROTC unit ng
Unibersidad ng Santo Tomas (UST) sa kanilang campus publication na Varsitarian noong 2001.
Ang bangkay ni Mark, na nakabalot sa isang karpet, ay natagpuang naaagnas sa Ilog Pasig noong
Marso 18, 2001. Ang kanyang ulo ay nakabalot sa tela at packing tape, at ang kanyang mga
kamay at paa ay nakatali ng mga sintas ng sapatos. Ang pagpatay kay Mark ay humantong sa
pagbasura sa mandatoryong ROTC program noong 2002. Naging opsyonal ito sa pamamagitan
ng Republic Act No. 9163 o ang National Service Training Program Act of 2001.

• A UST student, Chua was allegedly killed by fellow ROTC officers for exposing corruption in
the program. His death paved the way for legislation that made military training optional in
higher education. Iyong exposition na ginawa ni Mark Welson Chua showed us the culture of
violence and corruption of this program. And we must never forget that

• Namatay noong Setyembre 18, 2019 ang Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Cadet 4th Class
Darwin Dormitorio matapos magreklamo ng pananakit ng tiyan at pagsusuka dahil sa mga
pinsalang dulot ng hazing. Kinumpirma ito ng isang medico-legal officer ng Philippine National
Police (PNP) sa Baguio City. Natagpuang walang malay ang 20-anyos na plebe mula Cagayan de
Oro City sa loob ng Room 209 ng Mayo Hall Annex ng umaga. Siya ay isinugod sa PMA Station
Hospital bandang alas-4 ng umaga ng araw na iyon at idineklara itong patay makalipas ang
mahigit isang oras. Ang opisyal na sanhi ng kamatayan ay "pag-aresto sa puso na pangalawa sa
panloob na pagdurugo." Ang autopsy kay Dormitorio ay nagsiwalat na " blunt force trauma "
ang sanhi ng kanyang kamatayan.

• Joshua Philip Contado from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Central Student Council
lamented that many seemed to have forgotten about the case of Mark Welson Chua.

Health Effects

• health reform advocate Dr. Tony Leachon said the mandatory ROTC “at this time,” will possibly “aggravate the mental health
status of our students.” It can cause anxiety, depression, behavior disorders, [and], might increase suicide rates due to increasing
educational workload

• “Iba-iba po ang capacity ng isang tao to respond and to become resilient on their own. Iba-iba rin po ang kailangan ng bawat
tao para sila po ay maging mentally healthy. It’s not going to be the same for each person,” Vergeire said.

• the strains of the ROTC program may cause students to experience significant levels of stress, which can lead to anxiety,
depression, and other mental health problems. In addition to physical and mental health concerns, mandatory ROTC can create
a wide range of discrimination.

• Mental health advocate Dr. Gia Sison said that forcing ROTC may be “more detrimental to one’s mental health.” Creating a
psychological safe space definitely includes choices and not forces,”

• Dr. Dinah Nadera, a psychiatrist, “increasing frustration tolerance is not always healthy.”

Funds, Debts

• The total projected budget of P61.2 billion for the implementation of mandatory ROTC can already build 24,480 classrooms

• Phase 1 – Core group training (2023) – P5,240,000

• Phase 2 – Administrators training (2024, Q1 to Q3) – P5,542,498,579.20

• Phase 3 – First year implementation (2024, Q4; 2025, Q1 to Q3) – P14,861,591,011.20

• Phase 4 – Second year implementation (2025) – P20,384,338,579.20

• Phase 5 – Full implementation; evaluation (2026) – P20,384,338,579.20

• the projected P61.2 billion budget for mandatory ROTC can fund the construction of around 24,480 classrooms. The
Department of Education (DepEd) had said that the country lacks 91,000 classrooms for the current school year 2022 to 2023.

• Ang DepEd na mismo ang umamin na nasa gitna tayo ng isang education crisis. Kung may kailangan pondohan man hindi ito
boots at barracks kundi mga dagdag classroom, suweldo sa teachers, mas maayos na pasilidad at iba pang pangangailangan
para matuto nang mabuti ang mga kabataan,” said Kabataan party-list executive vice president Renee Louise Co.

• In 2023, it was estimated that North Korea had approximately 6.6 thousand military tanks, followed by China with an
estimated strength of around five thousand military tanks. Comparatively, it was also estimated that the Philippines had 48
military tanks in 2023.

• Lumobo pa sa P14.35 trilyon ang utang ng Pilipinas nitong katapusan ng Agosto.

• The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines calls for the hiring of 30,000 new teachers each year up to 2028 to
resolve the teacher shortage which is at the "core of the learning crisis." ACT says the country's public schools are “short of
147,000 teachers to decisively reduce the class size to 35 students.”