ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Padilla urges Filipino youth: Be more than 'keyboard warriors,' sharpen skills through ROTC

Padilla urges Filipino youth: Be more than 'keyboard warriors,' sharpen skills through ROTC

Published Aug 20, 2023 04:37 am

Senator Robinhood “Robin” Padilla urged the Filipino youth to be more than “keyboard warriors” and allow themselves to be trained with real skills and discipline sharpened through the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program. 

 

Padilla made the call at the conclusion of the Visayas Regional Qualifying Leg ng Philippine ROTC Games 2023 in Iloilo City on Saturday, August 19. 

 

“Sana dumating ang araw na yung mga kabataan na matapang lang sa keyboard, na nakikipag-away sa keyboard, (na naniniwalang) mapapangalagaan ang kalayaan natin sa pagiging warrior sa keyboard, e sana gumaya sila sa inyo (I hope for the day that youths will not think it is enough to defend the country by just being keyboard warriors),” Padilla said in his speech.

 

“Gumaya sila sa pagmamahal ninyo sa bayan, pagmamahal ninyo sa pamilya ninyo. At higit sa lahat ang disiplinang meron kayo (I hope they will be like you, with your discipline and love for your country and family),” he also said.

 

“Walang masama ang taong handa. Ang pinakapalpak sa lahat ng tao yung hindi handa (There is nothing wrong with being prepared. The sloppiest people are those who are unprepared)," he added.

 

At the same time, Padilla reiterated his call for the public to understand the necessity of reimposing the ROTC, pointing out that the Philippines could be caught in the ongoing tensions in Asia and other parts of the world. 

 

At this point, the senator said the Philippines will need its citizenry, especially the youth, to be prepared and organized.

 

The new developments in the other parts of the world could also affect the Philippines, including the war in Ukraine and the tension in Taiwan.

 

While neighboring countries such as South Korea and Singapore are prepared due to their mandatory military service requirement for citizens, there is none in the Philippines. 

 

“Tayo lang ang relax na relax, relax na relax tayong mga Pilipino (We Filipinos are too relaxed)," he lamented. 

 

Padilla also said he cannot understand the arguments of some sectors that the ROTC may restrain freedom, as the program itself would help the citizenry protect freedom.

 

The lawmaker ended his speech by singing "Pilipinas Kong Mahal," which he sang when he visited Pagasa Island in 2021.

 

During the event, Padilla also played a video message from his wife, Mariel, supporting the ROTC and those who participated in the ROTC Games. 

Related Tags

Robin Padilla ROTC program
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.