1-Pacman Party-list Rep. Mikee Romero (left), House Speaker Martin Romualdez (Facebook, Speaker’s office)

House Speaker Martin Romualdez has promised to prioritize the enactment of the National Citizen Service Training (NSTC) and Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) bill.

Thus, shared 1-Pacman Party-list Rep. Mikee Romero, a reserve officer in the Air Force with the rank of lieutenant colonel, in a statement over the weekend.

Romero, together with other military reservists, had paid a courtesy call to Romualdez last week wherein they pushed for the measure’s institutionalization.

Romero said the measure would amend Republic Act (RA) No. 7077, otherwise known as the Reservists’ Law, which provides for the formation and training of a “citizen armed force of the Armed Forces of the Philippines".

He said the final approval by the House of Representatives and the Senate of the NSTC-ROTC bill would expand the military reservists’ organization which could be deployed in times of emergencies, including calamities.

Romero chairs the board of trustees of the Association of Reservist and Reservist Administrators, Inc.

It was in December 2023 when the House passed on third and final reading its version of the NSTC-ROTC bill, under which college students would undergo a two-year mandatory citizen service training, while ROTC would be optional.

President Marcos has certified the bill as urgent, saying its enactment would enhance the capacity of Filipino citizens to mobilize and perform their constitutional duty to render military or civil service in times of calamities and disasters, national or local emergencies, rebellion, invasion, or war.

"This shall be made possible by the establishment of a unified, comprehensive, and holistic national citizens service training and mobilization system," the President said.

Romualdez is the principal author of the NSTC-ROTC bill, which has been pending in the Senate for more over a year.

Two weeks ago, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said his chamber would tackle the measure before Congress goes on its sine die or mandatory annual adjournment next weekend.

Also joining the courtesy call were former Agusan del Norte congresswoman Charito Plaza (brigadier general, Air Force, reserve); Major General Joel Alejandro Nanac, deputy chief of staff for reservist and reservist affairs; and Brigadier General Vicente Ronatay, commander, AFP Reserve Command.