Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said that vice presidential aspirant Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio’s mandatory military service proposal shows her “lack of understanding” about security matters.
The former senator, who is seeking to be reelected as part of Vice President Leni Robredo’s ticket, said that he will oppose the proposal if he gets another term in the Senate.
Trillanes likened Duterte-Carpio’s proposal to that of her father, President Duterte. Trillanes is a staunch critic of the President.
“Sara Duterte’s mandatory military service proposal is wrong on so many levels. It shows her lack of understanding on national security matters. Like her father, everything is about power tripping,” Trillanes, a former Navy officer, said in a Facebook post.
“Kung papalarin ako manalo sa Senado, hindi ko palulusutin yan (If I am given the chance to win in the Senate, I will not let that pass),” he added.
Duterte-Carpio earlier said she will propose to make military service mandatory for all Filipinos aged 18 and above. The proposal will be similar to countries like South Korea and Israel.
READ: Sara to push for mandatory military service if elected VP
The proposal was already being criticized by different sectors.
Fellow vice presidential aspirant Buhay Party-list Rep. Lito Atienza said this was a step in the wrong direction while rights group Karapatan said the legislation, if passed, will be a violation of basic civil and political rights.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also said there are hurdles in implementing these measures since the Philippines is “not on war footing.”
Republic Act No. 9163 or the National Service Training Program Act of 2001 made military training optional, and it is no longer required for college students.