Citing its potential to cause harm and instill a culture of violence, Gabriela Youth on Monday, August 1, boldly denounced the proposed mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program.

“Time and time again, we had stated this before and we will say it again: ROTC inculcates culture of violence, impunity, sexism, and misogyny — not discipline and patriotism,” said Gabriela Youth Spokesperson Shaye Ganal.

This statement was issued following President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA) where he asked lawmakers to pass the bill on mandatory ROTC in both private and public senior high schools, claiming that this will “motivate, train, organize, and mobilize” learners for national defense preparedness.

The abolition of ROTC in PH

The mandatory ROTC in the country was abolished following the death of Mark Welson Chua, then 19-year-old University of Santo Tomas (UST) student who exposed the alleged corruption in the University’s ROTC program.

Chua was found dead on March 18, 2001. He was “fished out” of the Pasig River.

His decomposing body showed signs that he died in a brutal way — “rolled in a carpet, hands and legs hogtied, and his face wrapped with duct tape,” according to The Varsitarian, UST’s official student publication.

Following this incident, Republic Act No. 9163, also known as the National Service Training Program (NSTP) Act of 2001, was signed into law, allowing students to choose from the following service components: ROTC, The Literacy Training Service, and The Civil Welfare Training Service.

Safe reopening of schools

Instead of prioritizing the implementation of mandatory ROTC, the youth group urged the national government to ensure the safe reopening of schools for the forthcoming academic year 2022-2023.

“Prioritizing measures to ensure the safety and health of the students, teachers, and employees going to school should be the first and foremost priority for the education sector, not the fascist imposition of mandatory ROTC,” Ganal furthered.