Albayalde hopes new ROTC program would correct abuses, corruption in the past
Published Jun 5, 2019 06:05 pm
By Aaron Recuenco
Gen. Oscar Albayalde, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), has admitted that there were indeed cases of abuses and corruption while the Reserved Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program was still being implemented for college students in the past.
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
But he stressed that past mistakes should not be a cause to derail the implementation of the law that mandates ROTC program for senior high school students.
“In the past, there abuses, there were corruption. We need to correct all of these,” said Albayalde.
Albayalde made the statement as he expressed support anew for the revival of the mandatory ROTC amid concerns of the past abuses that also include hazing.
It was recalled that the last straw that led to the abolition of the mandatory ROTC program was the death of an ROTC officer in a university in Manila who was believed to have been killed after he exposed the corruption in the implementation of the military training program for students.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) earlier vowed that it would make sure that the mistakes of the past would not be repeated once the ROTC program is implemented.
“We are not saying that this will be a perfect process or procedure. The military is not a perfect organization so much so the PNP hindi din kami perfect na organization,” said Albayalde.
“There are flaws that might occur again like the allegations that some ROTC cadets would just pay their attendance. If this is really training, ay … training it will be professional, it's aboveboard, within the limits of the law,” he added.
President Duterte earlier gave a go-signal for his allies in Congress to speed up the passage of the bill that requires mandatory ROTC for senior high school students.
Ironically, Duterte was also reported to have admitted that he skipped his ROTC classes.
For Albayalde, the mandatory ROTC program imparts a sense of patriotism and nationalism.
“We are a very small country and of course there are a lot of people saying that we are under threat so we might as well train our youth. In some countries like Taiwan and Israel for instance, there are also two-year mandatory military training program,” said Albayalde.
“We should love our country and this is one way of loving our country, by defending it from whatever external threat,” he added.
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
But he stressed that past mistakes should not be a cause to derail the implementation of the law that mandates ROTC program for senior high school students.
“In the past, there abuses, there were corruption. We need to correct all of these,” said Albayalde.
Albayalde made the statement as he expressed support anew for the revival of the mandatory ROTC amid concerns of the past abuses that also include hazing.
It was recalled that the last straw that led to the abolition of the mandatory ROTC program was the death of an ROTC officer in a university in Manila who was believed to have been killed after he exposed the corruption in the implementation of the military training program for students.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) earlier vowed that it would make sure that the mistakes of the past would not be repeated once the ROTC program is implemented.
“We are not saying that this will be a perfect process or procedure. The military is not a perfect organization so much so the PNP hindi din kami perfect na organization,” said Albayalde.
“There are flaws that might occur again like the allegations that some ROTC cadets would just pay their attendance. If this is really training, ay … training it will be professional, it's aboveboard, within the limits of the law,” he added.
President Duterte earlier gave a go-signal for his allies in Congress to speed up the passage of the bill that requires mandatory ROTC for senior high school students.
Ironically, Duterte was also reported to have admitted that he skipped his ROTC classes.
For Albayalde, the mandatory ROTC program imparts a sense of patriotism and nationalism.
“We are a very small country and of course there are a lot of people saying that we are under threat so we might as well train our youth. In some countries like Taiwan and Israel for instance, there are also two-year mandatory military training program,” said Albayalde.
“We should love our country and this is one way of loving our country, by defending it from whatever external threat,” he added.