Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Friday supported the calls to junk the invoice making Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) necessary following the demise of alleged hazing sufferer John Matthew Salilig.
“Scrap the bill making ROTC mandatory. Make it only optional to those who are ‘militarily inclined’ or interested in military matters,” Pimentel mentioned.
But Senators Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Sherwin Gatchalian—principal authors of the payments on necessary ROTC—defended the measure.
Dela Rosa, who presided over the hearings on the necessary ROTC payments, tagged the decision as a “desperate move” by teams who’re towards this system.
“What a desperate move from anti-ROTC leftist group. What is the connection? The victim died because of fraternity hazing and not of ROTC training,” Dela Rosa advised GMA News Online.
Meanwhile, Gatchalian defined that ROTC seeks to eradicate incidents of hazing by instilling self-discipline among the many youth.
“The death of John Salilig that was caused by hazing was perpetuated by individuals who have absolutely no respect for the rule of law. The goal of ROTC, on the other hand, is to inculcate discipline and good citizenship among the youth,” Gatchalian mentioned.
“It is precisely incidents like these that ROTC intends to eliminate by molding our youth to respect our country and one another,” he added.
Gatchalian maintained that the necessary ROTC invoice is “airtight and equipped with safeguards that will prevent abuses from happening.”
“Macho-fascist”
In a press release on the demise of Salilig, Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) mentioned the “macho-fascist” custom in school-based fraternities is the “same destructive culture” that dominated the ROTC.
“The fate of Salilig should also prompt our national leaders to drop altogether the plans to revive the ROTC, which is intrinsically militaristic, macho-fascist, violent and rotten to the core,” mentioned ACT.
“Our schools should at all times be safe spaces for learning and zones of peace. Such school environment is vital in enabling free discourse and genuine pursuit of truth and knowledge that is relevant to the lives of our youth and the country’s future,” it added.
Salilig, a 3rd yr chemical engineering pupil of Adamson University, apparently died of fraternity hazing. His stays have been present in a shallow grave in Imus, Cavite, greater than per week after he was final seen alive.
The necessary ROTC program was scrapped in 2002 following the passage of Republic Act 9163, an act establishing the National Service Training Program (NSTP).
The regulation was handed after the March 2001 killing of University of Santo Tomas pupil Mark Wilson Chua, allegedly by fellow cadets after corrupt practices have been uncovered inside the ROTC Corps.
The Marcos administration named the necessary ROTC invoice as considered one of its legislative priorities.
The invoice seeks to reinstitute the ROTC and the National Service Training Program (NSTP) as necessary for Grade 11 and 12 college students in all private and non-private establishments.
At the Kapihan sa Manila Bay discussion board final Wednesday, Dela Rosa mentioned he’s eyeing to sponsor the committee report on the payments on necessary ROTC earlier than the Holy Week break. —VAL, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
