The leadership of the House of Representatives led by Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Monday approved several bills and resolution during the resumption of session after the May 13 elections.
One of them was the Palace-backed bill that would revive the mandatory Reserved Officers Training Corps embodied in House Bill 8961. The bill was passed on third and final reading by a 167-4 voted with no abstention.
The bill, authored by Deputy Speaker Raneo Abu of Batangas, proposes to revive the ROTC for Grades 11 and 12 in both public and private schools in support of President Rodrigo Duterte’s call for a return of military science in schools.
This developed as Abu welcomed the support of the House leadership to his bill. Once enacted, Abu said, Republic Act 7077 or the “Citizen Armed Forces of the Philippines Reservist Act” shall be amended to make ROTC mandatory.
The bill covers the conduct of basic military and civic training of students who have to complete it in two years.
Abu said the bill also contains a provision safeguarding minors from being unjustly included in active conflict and hostilities.
It proposes to introduce basic military training “in order to motivate, train, organize and utilize for national defense preparedness or civil-military operations,” he said.
The measure makes graduates of mandatory basic ROTC eligible for commissionship or lateral entry into the AFP.