Vice President and Department of Education (DepED) Secretary Sara Duterte reiterated that the mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) would only cover students in higher education or tertiary level.
“Ang batas po sa mandatory ROTC ay napag-usapan po namin ng mga members ng Kongreso ay ibabalik natin sa higher education (The mandatory ROTC law, as discussed with members of Congress, will be returned to higher education),” Duterte said in a chance interview on Thursday, Dec. 15.
Duterte was been invited as a Guest of Honor by the Knight of Rizal Supreme Council for their 60th anniversary at the Teacher’s Camp in Baguio.
“Ginagawa na po nila ang batas ngayon and they are conducting hearings on that bill as well (They are making the law now and they are conducting hearings on that bill as well),” Duterte said.
“We invite everyone to join public hearings of Congress on the bill on mandatory ROTC,” she added.
Meanwhile, activist organization Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan (SPARK) expressed opposition to House Bill 6486 which intends to make the National Citizens Service Training Program (NCSTP) mandatory and the Reserve Officers Training Course (ROTC) optional for tertiary education students.
SPARK, in a statement, said it has sent a position paper to the congressmen responsible for pushing an “undesirable and completely opportunistic measure.”
In its position paper, the group argued that the House panels in consultation with relevant government agencies committed a “gross misreading of the conditions of Filipinos” by justifying their proposed bill as an act to “unsheathe its most valuable resource-the youth-and mobilize them in service to the nation” and “mobilize and perform their constitutional duty to render personal military or civil service to the State”.
SPARK added that it will continue to campaign for the scrapping of HB 6486 by linking with all youth groups in opposition to the said bill.