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A member of the Magnificent 7 House opposition promised on Tuesday to block the government's efforts to revive the controversial ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) program, saying the course was unnecessary because of foreign policy of the administration Duterte.
"The movement to restore the obligation to undergo military training or the ROTC is an act of patriotism meaningless when our leaders surrender their sovereignty to foreign powers," said at a press conference the representative of Akbayan, Tom Villarin,.
The legislator also described as "disturbing" the Duterte administration, accusing the armed forces and the police of coping with sporadic violence, warning that the government could use the ROTC cadets to quell the dissent.
Pretext
"The state of national emergency still imposed throughout the country can serve as a pretext to mobilize the ROTC to suppress legitimate dissent and go against citizens who criticize its administration," he said. -he declares.
Villarin added that the National Service Training Program (NTSP), a civic education and defense preparation program that replaced the ROTC in 2002 under Republic Act 9163, was already sufficient to encourage patriotism among young adult citizens.
"The NSTP was historic legislation to inculcate youth patriotism, service to our people and discipline," Villarin said.
He added that the program foresaw a "multidisciplinary and comprehensive approach, not a purely militaristic approach".
Military spirit
The representative of the city of Antipolo, Romeo Acop, chairman of the committee of the House of Public Order and Security, said Monday that people like him, from uniformed services, had always advocated the renewal of the ROTC.
"We have always advocated the return of the ROTC" for students able to take military training, said Acop.
He added that the ROTC could help instill in the minds of students the discipline and military knowledge.
The revival of the ROTC, added Acop, could also help build a pool of recruits for the reserve forces of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
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