Mondal5lVtrarrh 4, 20 19 .

MapdatoryROTC CoNTINUED FRoM A1o

President Duterte has time and rilyrecruitedinto theirarmedfories. which is "to inculcate in the youth
patriotism and nationalism and en_
again said thatthe country Keyin determining the legalityof
courage their lnvolvement in public
adheresto the Rule ofLaW and the draft HB 5113 regarding ROTC
and civic affairs ts laud3ble. ivhile
will be whether this training "con-
Atty. Loma Patajo-Kapunan under our Philippine Constitu- I agr€e that these values cannot be
trols entry into the armed forces,"
tion, international treaties and taught in a classroom settine and
e.g., on completion of the training,
protocols are part ofthe law of that physical training is necess"ary,
whether students are enlistedas re- I
disagree that rhis should be manja_
the land. Asthe Philippines is a serve officers. If theyare, this islikely
tory for Grades l1and 12 when stu_
to be interpreted as a breach ofOpac
signatoryto opac, then we must
J N linc with Presidcnt Rodrigo Dutertcls l)ronouncement that .Article 2," according to the ICRC.
dentsareages 15 to.[Z Onlvstudents
I the Reser-vc Ofticcrs Training Corps l)l ogram should be revived Iespect our obligation under
The ICRC strongly recommends
at leas t 18 years oid sf,."fa6"."""r"a
Ito "instill patriotism and love of countly among our youth';the Article 2 thereofto "ensure that that the autborities revisit the draft
Dy the mandatory ROTC program_
House o[ Rqrrcscntatives Committcc ou l]asic Education and Cul- pelsons who have not attained President Duterte ha" tirie
HB 5113 to ensure compliance with
tur c tacklcd House Bills 5097, 51 l3 arxl tl65l all seeking the revival again saidthat thecoun tryadheres"na
theageof lSyearsarenot' the Philippines obligation underAr- to
ol llO'l C firr Grades 11 and 12 (scrrior high school) in public and the Rule of Lary, and underour phil_
ticle 2 of the Opac, for the purpose
privlttc schools nationwide. Houst. l )t'puty Speakcr l{aneo Abu compulsorily recruited into the ippine Constitution, international
of ensuring that persons who have
(Author ofHB 5113), appealed to tl() House Leadership to pass the armed forces," treaties andprotocols arepartof the
not attained th€ age of 18 years are.1
law ofthe land. As th" philippine";;
Mandatory ROTC bill, which he srricl is'aimed at prombting the students brutality, fascism, corrup- not compulsorilyrecruitedinto their
primc duty of the government to sorve and protect the people'l tion and impunity. The killing in armed forces. ln particular, students a signatory to Opac, then we must
2001 of Univcrsity of Santo'lbmas in Grades 11 and 12 (senior high respect our obligation undel Article
student Mark Welson Chua in an school level urrdcr RA 10533) must 2 thereof to "ensure thdt persons
A counterpart bill has been intro- those who may be exempted from ROTC-relatedviolenceprompted the not enter into the armed forc€s, i.e,, who have not attained tl,fe age of 18
dr,rdedin the Senate (SB 189) by Sena- training for valid reasons approved passage of Republic Act 9163 or the on completioD of the training, be years are not compulsof,y recruited
tor lmmanuel D. Pacquiao. Under HB by the Department of National De- National Service Training Program, enlisted as reserve officers. into the armed forcesi
5113, the mandatory two-year Basic fense upon recommendation of the which made ROTC voluntary. DND Chief of Lcgal Opelations Rather than rus[ ile passage of
ROTC program for Grades 11and12 student's school (Section 4). In an Official Position Paper of Atty. Norman l)aanoy argued that HB 5113 only to be later challenged
will form part of the basic curricula Generally, HB 5113 willintroduce the International Committee of the HB 511.3, "a pfoduct of six-month- as being violative of iuternational
forseniorhigh school educatiorr and basic military trairiing for students RedCross, itwas noted thatwiththe long worl<uhop and consultation, protocols and ourtriatyobligations,
is a requisite forgraduation, in pursr,l- in order to motivate , frain, orgar|ize cr:rrrent educational setup in the Phil- is not a violation of international it maybebesttoamgnd theproposed
aqceof theprovisions-of the National and utilize them fornationaldefense ippines (K-12), students in Grades protocols." He added; "We are not bill to make ROTCiira'irdatoryat col-
Defense Act and the 1987 Constitu preparcclnesr orcivil-militaryopera- 11 and 12 (senior high school level tralning child soldiers for warfare. lege level, for students 18 years old
tion;' withthe objective of producing tior$,ItB principalauthor,Cong.Abu, under RA 10533) would tend to be The objective of the protocol is to and above. ., ,

well-trained and preserved reserv-
ists for military and civic service"
(Section 3 [a]). ExemptedfromROTC
are (a) those who are certified by
the Armed lrorces of the Philippines
Surgeon General to bc physically or
psychologically unfitj (b) those who
have undergone or are undergoing
similar military training; and
"'l'hc r.rl ionale ofthis is for Fili-
saicl,
pinocitizclls t()tlc[ondthc state atall
cost,andin n colLrctivccffo/ttomake
the Republic oI t hc l)hilippires I roal
Southeast Asilrr supcrl)owcr ir tll(!
near future." (Iixpln niltory Nol cs).
HB 5113 faces stiff oplxrsltion
from children's rights advocates
(c) who claim that ROTC only teaches
around 15-J-7 years old.
'l'hc l)lrilippines is State party to
thc Optional Protocol to the Con-
vcntion on the Rights of the Chlld
on the Involvement of Children in
Armed Conflict (Opac). lts Articlc 2
says that State Parties shall ensurc
that persons who have not attained
theage oflSyears are notcompulso-
avoidtrainingchildrenforwarfight-
ing or to become soldiers. We are
'not training children in high school
to become soldiers." (Inquirer.net,
December 11, 201.8).
'f he cxpresacdlcg{olativelntentof
I I 3 and similar bills seeking to i
lll51
make mandatory ROTC training-
SBB "KAPUNAN," A11
There may be other infirmities
in the bill, in that it fails to provide
safety nets to prfvent graft and cor-
ruptionand to cuYbhazingandother
[ormso(violence.Al]i6emorereason
for the authors ofthebill to open the
measure to more consultation.
Let the debates continue!
$ r.Aclc Atotl