A crucial time for ROTC

FINDING ANSWERS

By FORMER SENATOR ATTY. JOEY D. LINA

The few session days left before the 17th Congress adjourns sine die is crucial for the passage of a law that has immense benefits for the Filipino youth: the mandatory implementation of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program for senior high school students.

The House of Representatives already passed the ROTC bill on third and final reading on May 20, and the ball is now in the Senate where Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, sponsor of the measure, is expected to do all he can to convince his colleagues to give their timely approval.

For more than two years now, President Duterte has repeatedly called on lawmakers to pass the ROTC measure “so you can instill patriotism and love of country on the youth.” Defense officials said the ROTC program also instills “good citizenship, respect for human rights, and adherence to the rule of law” on the young who “needs to be exposed to the rudiments of basic soldiery no matter brief to help develop and hone their leadership potentials.”

The current law made ROTC optional as one of the three National Service Training Program courses for college students. The need to require senior high school students to undergo ROTC arose from the reality that only about 20 percent of the graduates of secondary education actually go on to college level.

It’s a general belief that a more disciplined and patriotic citizenry emerges from some sort of military training. And beyond the sense of discipline and patriotism that one gets from active involvement in ROTC is the readiness to fulfill the ultimate responsibility of defending the Philippines from foreign aggression, considering that defense of the state is the duty of everyone.

It would indeed be easier to implement, should the need arise, the Constitutional provision (Article 2, Section 4) which states that “Government may call upon the people to defend the State and, in fulfillment thereof, all citizens may be required, under conditions provided by law, to render personal military or civil service.”

It was Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew who prominently pushed the idea that an army comprised of the nation’s citizenry can serve as a deterrent to foreign invaders because of the “knowledge that even if they could subdue our armed forces, they would have to keep down a whole people well-trained in the use of arms and explosives.” Indeed, the knowledge that millions of Filipinos with ROTC training would be willing and capable of defending the motherland could be a strong deterrent against enemies.

Critics of ROTC though cannot be blamed if abuses and violence in the past have created the impression that the program is no good and students are not learning anything other than marching under the sweltering heat of the sun. A militant youth group even claimed ROTC promotes “blind obedience” and that it is “nothing more than a fascist tool of repression used by the state to instill a militaristic mindset” among students.

But they could be guided by what Lee said when he started building Singapore’s defense system to the exemplar that it is today: “We had to re-orientate people’s minds to accept the need for a people’s army and overcome their traditional dislike for soldiering… Only if we changed people’s thinking and attitudes could we raise a large citizen army like Switzerland or Israel.”

Amid the criticisms of some groups, many people are in favor of mandatory ROTC. In last Saturday’s edition of the DZMM teleradyo program, Magpayo nga Kayo (Saturdays, 9:30 to 10:30 am), which I co-host with broadcaster May Valle Ceniza, not one of our listeners who called or texted messages were opposed to an ROTC program with safeguards to avoid a repeat of controversies – hazing, abuses by trainers and cadet officers, corruption, among others—that hounded it in the past.

With all the proper values that help shape a young person’s character – aside from toughening of the physique through pushups and jumping jacks – derived from ROTC, it is indeed essential to bring back the old glory of military training for students.

All the marching drills and the various formations that cadets execute on the field have their purpose. Leadership skills, teamwork and unity are developed, and the grueling exercises instill the value of discipline and sacrifice to achieve common objectives.

During my school days at Osmeña High School in Tondo, the then Preparatory Military Training (PMT) was viewed as a sort of a rite of passage from adolescence towards adulthood. Sporting long hair was the fad then, and like others in the bloom of youth, I didn’t want to go against the trend by having the short haircut required for PMT.

But it didn’t take me long to learn and appreciate the value of humility, discipline, and obedience to authority that the PMT program taught me. I pushed myself to strive for excellence. As a result, I rose to become corps commander.

Discipline and obedience to authority developed through a military training program can go a long way in addressing the problems our country is faced with – from the pestering drug menace to the hellish traffic jams worsened by undisciplined motorists and pedestrians. Let’s hope passage of mandatory ROTC would be part of the legacy of the 17th Congress.

Email: finding.lina@yahoo.com