A lawmaker on Sunday called on Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to ensure the swift passage into law of a measure seeking to revive the mandatory Reserved Officers Training Corps for Grades 11 and 12 in public and private schools nationwide.
Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Raneo Abu urged his fellow lawmakers to support House Bill No. 5113 that would “resuscitate” the ROTC.
“I appeal to the House leadership to give priority on my measure in line with the President’s desire to revive the ROTC to promote the prime duty of the government to serve and protect the people,” he said.
Abu’s measure would amend Republic Act No. 7077 or the Citizen Armed Forces of the Philippines Reservist Act to make ROTC mandatory.
The bill would introduce basic military training for students in order to “motivate, train, organize and utilize them for national defense preparedness or civil-military operations.”
“If implemented effectively and efficiently, it would have the potential to produce an entire generation of young Filipinos who would be proud of their Filipino heritage and are ready to give the entirety of their being to serve their countrymen, to defend the country at all cost, and in a collective effort to make the Republic of the Philippines a real Southeast Asian Superpower in the near future,” Abu said.
“The inculcation of the spirit of nationalism, nation-building, and national preparedness among the country’s population is vital to the nation’s survival,” he added.
