UST-CSC President, student leaders question implementation of ‘rebranded’ MROTC
By Alexandria Grace Magno
UST Central Student Council President Nathan Agustin, along with various student leaders on Tuesday, Dec. 6, questioned the bills filed about implementing a new variant of mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (MROTC).
Agustin said during the joint committee hearings of the house committee on Higher and Technical Education (CHTE) and Committee on Basic Education and Culture (CBEC), that there was no need for a repackaged MROTC for students and emphasized that the current National Service Training Program (NSTP) would suffice as long as it is “expanded.”
“We understand that there is a need to have disaster preparedness…[but] we don’t need to create a new program that will leave room for different new interpretations na maaring maging dangerous po sa ating kalagayan when it comes to this setup po,” Agustin said.
House Bill 6486 or a call for establishing a “National Citizens Service Training Program,” (NCST) proposed by House Speaker Martin Romualdez and three other representatives, seeks to repeal the current NSTP Act.”
The proposed program aims to provide the youth with the necessary, and realistic knowledge and abilities for defense, civic responsibility, and other services that produce reservists for the National Service Reserve Corps (NSRC) and AFP Citizen Armed Force (AFP Reserve Force).
Agustin also explained that other than the presented issues from the past, students were also concerned about the impact of the proposed NCST Program in the curriculum once it was approved and implemented.
“[Yung mga bagay na ‘to] These will add additional units to one program na dati nagagawa naman siya in one year,” Agustin added.
Moreover, National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) representative Joshua Aquiler mentioned in the joint hearing that the youth expected the government to tackle more “urgent” matters like prioritizing retrofitting of schools.
“What the youth deserve is the protection of their democratic right to be heard and to be critical citizens of the nation, free from any arbitrary, inhumane policies that are against their interests[..],” he said.
Benroi Quequegan, vice president of the PUP Student Council also pointed out the absence of the views and stance of the youth sector on the NCST program after the Commission on Higher Education referred to it as a “consensus bill”.
He also said that the grounds were insufficient to replace the existing NSTP Act.
“Kung may kailangan [po] tayong paunlarin at i-mandatory na talagang mag sasabuhay (po) ng tinatawag nating diwang makabayan at nasyonalismo ito (po) yung asignatura ng kasaysayan, filipino at kultura na tinanggal [po] sa kolehiyo for example [..],” Quequegan added.
Student activists from different University-belt schools assembled in Morayta, Manila, on that day to protest against MROTC.
On the same day, the joint panel approved the said proposal to make NCST mandatory but left ROTC as an option. — with reports from Ian Patrick Laqui
