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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider DND promotes ROTC through sports competition

DND promotes ROTC through sports competition

Published Dec 23, 2022 04:22 pm

The Department of National Defense (DND) is bringing the values learned from the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) closer to the youth through a sports competition.

(L-R) Lt. Gen. Bartolome Vicente O. Bacarro, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP); Dr. J. Prospero E. De Vera III, Chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd); Senior Undersecretary Jose C. Faustino Jr., Officer in Charge of the Department of National Defense (DND); Jose Emmanuel M. Eala, Chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC); and Senator Francis N. Tolentino sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on Dec. 23, 2022 at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City to establish the Philippine Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) Games 2023. The Philippine ROTC Games aims to revitalize ROTC through sports to encourage the youth to enlist. (Photo by Mark Balmores / MANILA BULLETIN)

The DND signed a tripartite memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) on Friday, Dec. 23, for the launching of the 2023 Philippine ROTC Games (PRG).

DND Officer in Charge Jose Faustino Jr., CHED Chairperson Dr. J. Prospero E. De Vera III, and PSC Chairperson Jose Emmanuel M. Eala signed the pact at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City to formally establish a platform for ROTC cadets where they can "compete in an Olympic-level, national sports association-sanctioned sporting event," and encourage youths to enlist.

With the theme, “Tibay at Galing ay Pagyamanin, Suportahan ang Palarong ROTC Natin,” Faustino said that the aim of the PRG "is to highlight sports development, discover new talents, and promote the ROTC program."

“I look forward to a dramatic increase in our ROTC enrollees with this endeavor. ROTC is expected to help save our youths from the influence of radicalization and deceptive recruitment of nefarious groups preying upon the young,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, Senator Francis N. Tolentino, lead sponsor of the 2023 PRG as and guest of honor and speaker during the event, said that the shared goal for the agreement is to strengthen nationalism and sports through the ROTC program.

“The launching of the 2023 Philippine ROTC Games signals the beginning of our quest for young Filipino athletes who will not only excel in sports, but who will, more importantly, showcase to the world that the Filipino heart is the heart of a champion,” Tolentino said.

The event was attended by Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Bartolome Vicente O. Bacarro, and other officials from the DND, CHED, PSC, and AFP.

Faustino highlighted that the PRG seeks to "revitalize" the ROTC as the current administration continues to advocate for the reinstitutionalization of the program in higher education curriculum instead of just being one of the three options in the National Service Training Program (NSTP).

The DND is backing calls for the revival of the mandatory ROTC program for senior high school students "to greatly enhance our efforts to orient and prepare our youth for national defense preparedness and disaster response."

However, Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel, other lawmakers from the Makabayan block, and other sectors have persistently challenged the plan as they argued that the program could be prone to state-sponsored militarism, abuses, and corruption like when it was abolished in 2001.

The mandatory ROTC program was stopped in 2001 after Mark Chua, an ROTC cadet at the University of Santo Tomas (UST), was killed when he exposed the alleged corruption in the school’s military reserve training program through an article on The Varsitarian, the UST’s university paper.

Accordingly, some students would pay big sum to the school officers to avoid the training but still get a passing grade at the end of the program. After the exposé, Chua went missing and his body was found floating on Pasig River on March 18, 2001.

This sparked a series of protests which led to the signing into law of Republic Act 9163 or the National Service Training Program (NSTP) Act of 2001.

Under this law, college students are allowed to choose from ROTC, Literacy Training Service, or Civil Welfare Training Service (CWTS) for their NSTP which shall be a pre-requisite for graduation, and be part of the curricula of all baccalaureate degree courses and of at least two-year vocational courses.

Related Tags

mandatory ROTC program 12232022 Philippine ROTC Games DND rotc
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