Senators insist on mandatory ROTC despite lack of manpower for program

Students and youth groups protest outside of the Senate of the Philippines in Pasay City on January 25, 2023 as the chamber hears proposals to make the Reserve Officers Training Corps mandatory again.

Philstar.com / Xave Gregorio

MANILA, Philippines — Senators insisted Wednesday to make the Reserve Officers Training Corps mandatory even if the Department of National Defense warned that there might not be enough military personnel to man the program.

Defense Undersecretary Franco Nemesio Gacal estimated during the Senate hearing on the proposed revival of mandatory ROTC that the military would need to deploy 9,000 to 10,000 of its personnel to run the program, assuming that there are 2,400 higher educational institutions and four members of the military assigned to each.

“The requirement is really enormous … [the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority] and out-of-school youth are not yet included here,” Gacal said, adding that this is equivalent to around two infantry divisions covering the Davao, Caraga and Northern Mindanao regions.

Full Story: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/01/25/2240150/senators-insist-mandatory-rotc-despite-lack-manpower-program