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Friday, March 29, 2024

Citizens’ corps to train the youth – GMA

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FORMER President and  Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo is batting for the creation of a Citizens Service Corps to expand and improve the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps  program where  the youth  can  truly take part in nation-building.

Stressing  that youth training must not only be confined to external and territorial defense, Arroyo filed House Bill No. 5305 to teach and train young people to take part in public and civic affairs, including internal security threats and disaster management.

“This measure seeks to establish a comprehensive framework for the training and mobilization of the youth, and implements a constitutional vision of drawing them into the mainstream of national life by providing avenues for their participation in public and civic affairs, primarily through the establishment of the Citizen Service Training Course (CSTC),” she said.

In a related development, Batangas Rep. Raneo Abu called  on Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to consider the immediate passage into law of his measure to revive the mandatory ROTC for Grades 11 and 12 in public and private schools nationwide.

Abu filed House Bill No. 5113 to  immediately “resuscitate” the ROTC.

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“I appeal to the House leadership to give priority to my measure in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s desire to revive the ROTC aimed at promoting the prime duty of the government to serve and protect the people,” he said.

Under Arroyo’s CSTC bill, a basic citizen service training course shall be mandatory for all college students in baccalaureate degree and vocational courses in all public and private universities, colleges and other learning institutions.

If passed, the bill would retain the external and territorial training provided under the ROTC program, but would expand to cover trainings in internal security, peace and order as well as disaster risk reduction and management.

On the other hand, Abu’s measure sought to amend Republic Act No. 7077 or the “Citizen Armed Forces of the Philippines Reservist Act” to make ROTC mandatory.

“If implemented efficiently, it would have the potential to produce an entire generation of young Filipinos who will be proud of their heritage and are ready to give the entirety of their being to serve their countrymen, to defend the State 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.

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