MANILA — The Alliance of Concerned Teachers-Philippines (ACT-Philippines) is pushing for a "genuine patriotic education that fosters critical thinking, promotes peace, and safeguards Philippine sovereignty", instead of "militarization”— which they believe will happen if mandatory military training is  be revived. 

"We need to educate our youth about our history of struggle against colonialism, not train them to be complicit in new forms of foreign domination," ACT-Philippines Chairperson Vladimer Quetua said in a statement. 

This comes as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reportedly told senators to "expedite" the measure, according to Senate Majority Floor Leader Francis Tolentino in an interview. 

READ: ‘Mananalo tayo rito’: Bato optimistic for revival of mandatory ROTC

Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa and other proponents of requiring students to go enter the Reserve Officers Training Corps have pointed to the communist insurgency and to China’s aggressiveness in the West Philippine Sea among the reasons for mandatory military training. 

Senate Bill No. 2034, which proposes to make ROTC mandatory for tertiary students and vocational institutions, is pending on second reading.

The House of Representatives passed its version, which requires students to join either ROTC or the civilian National Service Reserve Corps — on third and final reading in December 2022.

The NSRC is meant to be deployed during disasters and similar emergencies or during "armed conflict to perform non-combat duties and render services as the President or the appropriate local sanggunian may deem necessary."

‘YOUTH AS PAWNS’

Quetua said the group opposes what he called a "blatant attempt to use our youth as pawns in geopolitical conflicts”, saying the ROTC would make young Filipinos “cannon fodder for the rising threat of war in the region.”

ROTC is one of three options for students under the National Service Training Program, which replaced mandatory ROTC in 2001 after the disappearance and murder of a cadet officer who exposed corruption in the system.

"We have not forgotten the likes of Mark Welson Chua and other victims of ROTC-related violence. Reviving this program risks exposing more of our youth to similar dangers," Quetua said.

In 2017, then President Rodrigo Duterte said that he skipped ROTC by faking a diagnosis for tuberculosis.

READ: Escudero says mandatory ROTC Bill under review

The House version of the bill creates a multi-agency committee with private sector representatives to monitor implementation and to “ensure that there shall be no abuse of any kind in both the conduct of the trainings and the deployment of National Service Reservists and Citizen Soldiers.”

Quetua said the government should instead focus on raising the quality of education, meeting students' healthcare needs, and making sure they have better job opportunities when they graduate.

According to Education Secretary Sonny Angara — a former senator of the current 19th Congress — "both [House] and Senate bills cover post-secondary education, meaning college and tech voc institutions". 

ABS-CBN News has sought comment from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on the statement, but it has yet to reply as of posting.

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