Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said that the proposed mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program will help build the resilience of the trainees which may positively foster good mental health.
Galvez issued the remark after drawing flak from mental health practitioners and advocates over his statement at a recent Senate hearing that ROTC can “cure” mental health issues.
“What we intend to convey during the Senate hearing was that through our enhanced Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program, we would be able to build the strength of character and resilience of our trainees, qualities which positively foster mental health,” he said in a statement on Monday night, Feb. 6.
Galvez attended a Senate hearing on the proposed revival of the mandatory ROTC program earlier that day where he made a controversial remark. He shared that ROTC trainees develop their “survival instincts” due to the intense military training that they have to overcome, compared to the civic training experienced by those who undergo National Service Training Program (NSTP).
“’Yung sinasabi nating mental problem, it can be cured kasi ‘yung frustration tolerance ng tao tataas (What we say mental problem, it can be cured because the frustration tolerance of a person increases),” Galvez said in the Senate hearing without presenting empirical data to back his claim.
This earned the ire of mental health experts and advocates. Among them is P3PWD (Komunidad ng Pamilya, Pasyente, at Persons with Disabilities) Party-list nominee Rowena Guanzon who disagreed with Galvez and said that mental health problems “cannot be cured by more stress and physical strain.”
“In fact, it can make things worse for the person with disability,” she stated.
But the defense chief cleared that he did not mean to offend those who suffer mental health issues over his remarks.
He said that the DND’s proposed ROTC program aims to develop among the trainees the basic psychosocial support competencies so they can “respond to stressful situations.”
He noted that among the courses eyed to be inculcated in the ROTC program include those that are “specifically designed to foster resilience, self-leadership, character-building, and discipline.”
“We believe these are virtues that our trainees must cultivate not only for their personal growth and development as individuals, but more importantly, enable them to play a key role in building a just, humane, and democratic society,” he stressed.
The defense chief vowed that Republic Act 11036 or the Mental Health Act of 2018 and the issues raised by mental health experts will be carefully taken into account as they craft the DND’s ROTC program.