Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 3) — Lawmakers have warned against the return of mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) in high schools and universities after Adamson University student John Salilig was allegedly killed by fratmen in a hazing ritual.
READ: Autopsy shows Salilig died from ‘severe blunt force trauma’
After Salilig’s death broke, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers called on the government to drop the plans to revive ROTC, which it described as \”intrinsically militaristic, macho-fascist, violent and rotten to the core.\”
“Wala na ba talaga tayong takot o guilt na manakit ng kapwa?” asked Senator Nancy Binay.
“Until now kahit merong RA [Republic Act] 11053 naririyan pa rin ang vicious cycle of physical abuse, at ibang forms of abuse tapos ngayon gusto uli nating ibalik ang ROTC na kilala sa ganyang practices,” Binay bemoaned, referring to the Anti-Hazing Act of 2018.
[Translation: Are we not afraid to hurt other people? Until now, even with RA 11053, the vicious cycle of physical and other forms of abuse persist, and now we want to bring back the ROTC which is known for those practices.]
In 2001, the ROTC program was made optional through the enactment of the National Service Training Program law after University of Santo Tomas student Mark Chua blew the whistle on corruption within the school’s ROTC unit, ultimately leading to his murder.
“Scrap the bill making ROTC mandatory. Make it only optional to those who are ‘militarily inclined’ or interested in military matters,” Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel said on Friday.
A bill which sought the return of ROTC was approved by the House on third reading last December.
Sen. Ronald \”Bato\” Dela Rosa, a proponent of mandatory ROTC, defended the measure amid Salilig’s killing.
\”What is the connection? That is a desperate move exploiting the death of a non-ROTC student to stop ROTC,\” Dela Rosa said.
“Namatay siya dahil sa fraternity hazing,” he argued. “Hindi naman siya namatay sa ROTC training. Bakit gamitin nila yan na rason para di ituloy ang ROTC bill? That is a very, very desperate, pathetic move.”
[Translation: He died because of fraternity hazing, not because of ROTC training. Why would this be a reason to stop the ROTC bill?]
Dela Rosa said the bill would be taken up in the Senate next week.
He added that, as a priority measure of the administration, it could be passed before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s next state of the nation address in July 2023.
Sen. Win Gatchalian likewise backed the measure.
\”The death of John Salilig that was caused by hazing was perpetuated by individuals who have absolutely no respect for the rule of law,\” Gatchalian noted.
\”The goal of ROTC, on the other hand, is to inculcate discipline and good citizenship among the youth,\” he also said.. \”It is precisely incidents like these that ROTC intends to eliminate by molding our youth to respect our country and one another.\”
