The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Saturday conducted a nationwide face-to-face and online summit for officers and cadets of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program.
The event was held at Tejeros Hall at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City with AFP chief-of-staff Lt. Gen. Bartolome Vicente Bacarro as the guest of honor and speaker.
“As the CSAFP (Chief-of-Staff, AFP), I wholeheartedly give my unwavering support to the President’s endeavor of pursuing mandatory military training programs,” he added.
This year’s theme is “ROTC Cadets of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow” and aims to advocate the promotion of the ROTC and highlight the enhancement of the reserve force of the AFP.
“This program is not merely for the marches and the physical challenge, but more so it encourages coming forward as youth leaders who are contributors to our envisioned best for our country,” Bacarro said.
On Nov. 26, as part of the first phase of the summit, a historical tour and town hall was held at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in San Juan, Cainta, Rizal aimed at educating participants on the history of the ROTC and the contribution of ROTC cadets during World War II.
It also helped inculcate the importance of history, rekindle patriotism and nationalism and instill love of country to the participants. The participants were also given updates on the Revised IRR to Republic Act 9163 or the National Service Training Program Act of 2001, ROTC policies and the National Citizens Service Training Bill.
They also witnessed the launch of “Oplan Rehistro” a program that seeks to account for ROTC graduates in the country.