House panel OKs revival of ROTC for senior high school students
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2019 08:11:58 +0000
THE House of Representatives’ Committee on Basic Education and Culture approved a substitute bill, which revives the mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) applicable to senior high school students.
The measure will be known as the ROTC Act and will apply to all Grade 11 and 12 students in private and public institutions under a two-year program which will form part of their basic curricula for the senior high school education to “instill patriotism, love of country, moral and spiritual values, respect for human rights, and adherence to the Constitution.”
The bill was immediately endorsed for second reading as House Bill (HB) 8961, but the plenary suspended consideration of the measure on Wednesday night.
Committee chairman Cebu 5th District Rep. Ramon Durano, one of the co-authors of the measure, said the approval of the ROTC Act would reinforce the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) reserve manpower and the capacity of the government to respond to any national security threat or emergency.
For Kabataan Party-list Rep. Sarah Elago, however, the program will only serve as “a hotbed of abuse and corruption in schools.”
The measure exempts those who are physically or psychologically unfit, as certified by the AFP Surgeon General or his authorized medical officer; those who have undergone or are undergoing similar military training; those who were previously chosen by the school to serve as the school’s varsity players in sports competitions; and those exempted for valid reasons by the Department of National Defense (DND).
Graduates of basic ROTC who have completed a four-year baccalaureate degree will be considered as first level civil service eligible, while graduates of advance ROTC will be considered second level civil service eligible by the Civil Service Commission.
Graduates of basic ROTC are also eligible for commission and enlistment in the AFP, the Philippine National Police (PNP), Coast Guard, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).
Students undergoing Basic and Advance ROTC will also be provided free hospitalization in case of accident or injury during training. GLEE JALEA
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