đź“· Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa | GMA NetworkÂ
AMID an escalated tension at the West Philippine Sea, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa urged fellow legislators to support the bill seeking the return of the mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) “in preparation for a war.”
“You have to prepare for war in order not to go to war. So kailangan maghanda tayo para hindi tayo mapupunta sa giyera,” Bato was quoted as saying during an interview in a livestream of a program on Teleradyo Serbisyo.
“Kasama na dyan sa paghahanda ay yung paghahanda sa iyong citizens into an armed force… ihanda ang ating mga kababayan for any eventuality,” dela Rosa, a former police general, added.
According to dela Rosa, the ROTC program is an imperative for a country under serious threat – “Although late na. Still, better late than never.”
Citing an assurance allegedly relayed to him by Senate Majority Leader Sen. Francis Tolentino, dela Rosa said that the mandatory ROTC bill will be among the first calendared for discussion when the Senate returns from break.
“Mas marami ang papabor. Mananalo tayo dito pag dinivide yung house.”
ROTC, which was made optional in 2001 following the death of University of Santo Tomas cadet officer Mark Chua who exposed corruption in the program, will cover male and female students at higher education institutions and at technical-vocational schools.
He allayed fears that the same incident would take place under the new ROTC program which he claimed would have a grievance committee composed of the school administration and representatives of the defense department, the Commission on Higher Education, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the local government unit to handle potential issues.
“The Department of National Defense] and CHED have learned their lesson well… sisiguruhin nila ngayon na hindi na talaga magkakaroon ng abuso,” the senator further said.
However, dela Rosa’s call doesn’t seem to sit well for Sen. Risa Hontiveros who finds it rather more practical to put more funding into the military, particularly the Philippine Navy, to upgrade its capabilities for external defense.
“I think it is not the right policy direction to make ROTC mandatory, especially for our citizens whose ways are different in serving the country.” (ANGEL F. JOSE)
