The substitute bill for proposed measures creating a mandatory National Citizens Service Training (NCST) Program and an optional Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) Program for Filipino youth was approved by a joint House committee hearing on Tuesday, Dec. 6, much to the dismay of youth groups and representatives.
House Bill (HB) No. 6486 will be the “lead bill“ for the substitute bill consolidating HBs 503, 639, 2174, 2628, 3035, 3045, 3513, 3613, 3637, 4019, 4083, 4105, 4500, 6136, 1692, 2339, 2759, 3090, 3437, 3450, 4872, 4308, 5217, 4590, and 6078.
The substitute bill would still be subjected to amendments, recommendations, and style, including the committee report, Baguio City Lone District Rep. Mark Go, chair of the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education, said.
Go, together with Pasig City Lone District Rep. Roman Romulo, chair of the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture, led the joint committee meetings to tackle the consolidation of some 27 bills on the controversial ROTC program pushed by the Marcos administration.
“Just want to let you know in the proposed bill of our Speaker (Martin Romualdez), the ROTC will not be mandatory. It will be voluntary if the students would like to, but the NCST is the one mandatory for all students in higher education, both public and private,” Go explained.
The lead bill—HB 6486—was authored by Romualdez, Zamboanga City 2nd District Rep. Manuel Dalipe, and Tingog Part-list Reps. Yedda Marie Romualdez and Jude Acidre.
The bills consolidated were authored by Reps. Edvic Yap, Joey Salceda, Raul ‘Boboy’ Tupas, Senior Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Reps. Richard Gomez, Florida ‘Rida’ Robes, Romeo Acop, Deputy Speaker Kristine Singson-Meehan, Reps. Bienvenido Abante, Luis Raymund ‘LRay’ Villafuerte Jr., Gus Tambunting, Marvin Rillo, Arnolfo 'Arnie' Teves Jr., and Christopherson ‘Coco’ Yap, Aurelio ‘Dong’ Gonzales Jr., Maria Vanesa Aumentado, Joseph Gilbert Violago, Anthony Rolando Golez Jr., Jaime Fresnedi, Florencio Gabriel ‘Bem’ Noel, Rex Gatchalian, Virgilio Lacson, Mary Mitzi Cajayon-Uy, and Rufus Rodriguez.
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But during the hearing, Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel posed his objection and asked for his name to be excluded from the consolidated bill.
“Since we have already decided on the motion and given the explanation that I made that the House Bill that I filed actually seeks to maintain the NSTP instead of abolishing it, I move that it be excluded from the consolidation, and I be removed from any list of possible authors or co-authors of the consolidated bill,” he said.
Manuel authored HB 1159, or also entitled “Expanding the coverage of the National Service Training Program by amending RA 9163” instead of the proposal to abolish it.
Taking note of Manuel’s manifestation, Go thanked him for “considering the position of this body as far as moving this to have them consolidated into one subject to style and amendments.”
“But take note that we will consider the amendments that we file in your proposed measure in this final substitute bill,” he added.
Manuel, as well as several other youth groups, is opposing the abolishment of the existing NSTP and the push of the current administration to make the ROTC program mandatory among college students.
Instead, they called on Congress to address issues in the education sector, particularly the budget cuts impacting state universities and colleges.
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Under HB 6486, or the “National Citizens Service Training (NCST) Program Act,” the State “will enhance the capacity of its citizens to mobilize and perform their constitutional duty to render personal military or civil service to the State in times of calamities and disasters, national or local emergencies, rebellion, invasion, or war by the establishment of a unified, comprehensive and holistic national citizens service training and mobilization system.”
This will be done through the mandatory NCST program, optional ROTC program, and “a feasible, realistic and operational National Service Reservist and Citizen Soldier mobilization program through the National Service Reserve Corps and the AFP Reserve Force.”