Senator Ronald Bato Dela Rosa said that he will be refiling his bill seeking to make ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) mandatory when the 19th Congress opened on July 25.
Dela Rosa said that he will be filing the same bill filed during the last Congress but he is ready to file another one should Vice President-elect Sara Duterte suggest another version.
“Yes, the same bill that I filed during the 18th Congress, ipa-file ko ngayon doon sa 19th Congress. At titingnan ko kung mayroong proposal ‘yung Office ng Vice President na gagawin nila, isa-submit sa akin, then I am willing to author such a bill na gusto nila, ‘yung version na gusto ni Vice President Inday Sara,” Dela Rosa said.
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Under Dela Rosa’s bill, the mandatory ROTC will be introduced to Grades 11 and 12 in both private and public schools.
An advanced ROTC will also be available to those who are willing to become officers.
“Mas mild itong aking version, kumpara mo doon sa version na, I have heard, if I’m correct, ‘yung version ni Vice President Inday Sara, di ko siya pangungunahan… ‘yung aking narinig ay ‘yung talagang mandatory military training to all the youth like the Korea, Singapore versions (na) kailangan na drafting talaga, two years drafting doon sa military, which ako, nakita ko mas mahirap palusutin ‘yan. It will face a stiff opposition,” Dela Rosa said in an ABS-CBN News report.
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Duterte has been pushing for the mandatory ROTC since the campaign period.
The ROTC was made optional following the death of Mark Chua IN 2002. He was a University of Santo Tomas killed by his officers after exposing fund mismanagement.
