DepEd supports implementation of ROTC in senior high school
Published May 22, 2019 04:22 pm
By Merlina Hernando-Malipot
The Department of Education (DepEd) on Wednesday expressed its support to the proposed mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program for Senior High School (SHS) students in both public and private schools nationwide.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones (SCREENSHOT / RTVM / MANILA BULLETIN)
“I am in favor of the mandatory ROTC,” said Education Secretary Leonor Briones when asked to comment on the proposal in a press conference on the preparations for the upcoming opening of classes for the school year 2019-2020 in Malacañang.
“As a matter of principle, I am for ROTC,” she explained – noting the need for a source of defense. “We cannot be relying on other countries for defense,” she added.
The House of Representatives approved on third and final reading on Monday a bill requiring a mandatory ROTC program for Grades 11 and 12 students. Briones noted that if the proposed mandatory ROTC will push through, DepEd will be “more involved” in the implementation. Among its important features, she added, is the “expanded role” of DepEd in the curriculum as well as in the monitoring process.
For Briones, mandatory ROTC will help instill nationalism among the students. Its curriculum, she added, will also focus on Philippine history and protection of the country – among others. What she liked about the proposal, she added, is that “girls are also involved.”
Safety measures
Meanwhile, Education Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del Pascua said that a two-year pilot implementation of the mandatory ROTC will be implemented if the Senate passes the bill before the 17th Congress formally adjourns sessions on June 7.
If approved, Pascua said that “we will not implement the law fully.” If to be implemented this year, he said that “we proposed a two-year pilot implementation program in the Senate version.”
In the proposed two-year pilot program, Pascua said around 100 schools will be tapped for the pilot run. “We have an initial list which were identified and located very near AFP bases or military bases and have large ground for the drills,” he explained.
Out of the schools that will participate in the pilot run, Pascua said a “small number of private schools” volunteered and majority will be public schools. To safeguard the welfare of the students, he said that “several mechanisms how to deter abuses” have been proposed to Senate.
These mechanisms include the establishment of grievance committees; a joint congressional oversight committee and the establishment of an ROTC instructors’ academy to provide capacity training building for all instructors.
These, Pascua said, aim to that “our students will not be subjected to abuse.”
‘Attack’ on the Filipino youth
For the League of Filipino Students (LFS), mandatory ROTC can be considered among the “attacks” against the Filipino youth.
LFS, in a statement, vehemently condemned what it called “utter desperation” of the Duterte administration “to generate more and more blind followers of its fascist and violent” regime. “At a time when more and more Filipino youth have become disgusted with the deliberate attacks on our rights, silencing our voice and representation in congress, this government has added its puzzle pieces of coercing us into its false sense of patriotism,” said LFS national spokesperson Kara Taggaoa.
The group alleged that the AFP has utilized the ROTC “under the guise of disaster response preparedness, defense preparedness and civic education,” just to “infiltrate schools and turn them into breeding grounds of reserve foot soldiers of the government.”
“The military has also employed the Student Intelligence Network (SIN), which are mostly recruited in the ROTC, to gather intelligence information on students, mostly student leaders and youth activists, who are members of progressive organizations,” LFS alleged.
LFS noted that there have been “numerous cases of hazing, sexual abuses, and corruption within the ROTC” and urged the public to “never forget” the case of Mark Welson Chua who is a former UST ROTC cadet who was killed and abducted in 2001 after he exposed the corruption in the University’s ROTC program.
"In the face intensified attacks against the Filipino youth, Duterte and his cohorts have once again proven that our future was never a priority; rather, the main goal is for them to destroy it,” Taggaoa said. “Instead of addressing the legitimate demands of the youth, this government has invested so much in vilifying our ranks – with this, our resistance will grow stronger as ever,” ended.
READ MORE: Mandatory ROTC OK'd on final reading
Education Secretary Leonor Briones (SCREENSHOT / RTVM / MANILA BULLETIN)
“I am in favor of the mandatory ROTC,” said Education Secretary Leonor Briones when asked to comment on the proposal in a press conference on the preparations for the upcoming opening of classes for the school year 2019-2020 in Malacañang.
“As a matter of principle, I am for ROTC,” she explained – noting the need for a source of defense. “We cannot be relying on other countries for defense,” she added.
The House of Representatives approved on third and final reading on Monday a bill requiring a mandatory ROTC program for Grades 11 and 12 students. Briones noted that if the proposed mandatory ROTC will push through, DepEd will be “more involved” in the implementation. Among its important features, she added, is the “expanded role” of DepEd in the curriculum as well as in the monitoring process.
For Briones, mandatory ROTC will help instill nationalism among the students. Its curriculum, she added, will also focus on Philippine history and protection of the country – among others. What she liked about the proposal, she added, is that “girls are also involved.”
Safety measures
Meanwhile, Education Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del Pascua said that a two-year pilot implementation of the mandatory ROTC will be implemented if the Senate passes the bill before the 17th Congress formally adjourns sessions on June 7.
If approved, Pascua said that “we will not implement the law fully.” If to be implemented this year, he said that “we proposed a two-year pilot implementation program in the Senate version.”
In the proposed two-year pilot program, Pascua said around 100 schools will be tapped for the pilot run. “We have an initial list which were identified and located very near AFP bases or military bases and have large ground for the drills,” he explained.
Out of the schools that will participate in the pilot run, Pascua said a “small number of private schools” volunteered and majority will be public schools. To safeguard the welfare of the students, he said that “several mechanisms how to deter abuses” have been proposed to Senate.
These mechanisms include the establishment of grievance committees; a joint congressional oversight committee and the establishment of an ROTC instructors’ academy to provide capacity training building for all instructors.
These, Pascua said, aim to that “our students will not be subjected to abuse.”
‘Attack’ on the Filipino youth
For the League of Filipino Students (LFS), mandatory ROTC can be considered among the “attacks” against the Filipino youth.
LFS, in a statement, vehemently condemned what it called “utter desperation” of the Duterte administration “to generate more and more blind followers of its fascist and violent” regime. “At a time when more and more Filipino youth have become disgusted with the deliberate attacks on our rights, silencing our voice and representation in congress, this government has added its puzzle pieces of coercing us into its false sense of patriotism,” said LFS national spokesperson Kara Taggaoa.
The group alleged that the AFP has utilized the ROTC “under the guise of disaster response preparedness, defense preparedness and civic education,” just to “infiltrate schools and turn them into breeding grounds of reserve foot soldiers of the government.”
“The military has also employed the Student Intelligence Network (SIN), which are mostly recruited in the ROTC, to gather intelligence information on students, mostly student leaders and youth activists, who are members of progressive organizations,” LFS alleged.
LFS noted that there have been “numerous cases of hazing, sexual abuses, and corruption within the ROTC” and urged the public to “never forget” the case of Mark Welson Chua who is a former UST ROTC cadet who was killed and abducted in 2001 after he exposed the corruption in the University’s ROTC program.
"In the face intensified attacks against the Filipino youth, Duterte and his cohorts have once again proven that our future was never a priority; rather, the main goal is for them to destroy it,” Taggaoa said. “Instead of addressing the legitimate demands of the youth, this government has invested so much in vilifying our ranks – with this, our resistance will grow stronger as ever,” ended.
READ MORE: Mandatory ROTC OK'd on final reading