DND Proposes Phased Approach To Mandatory ROTC

The mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program will return through a “phased approach” that would reach full implementation in five years, the Department of National Defense (DND) said on Saturday, Jan. 28.

While House Bill 6687, the National Citizens Service Training Program Act, has been certified as urgent by President Marcos, much preparation and fine-tuning is required to reintroduce the ROTC program.

“We will have pilot and simulation runs in selected universities, while preparing our personnel, logistical and budgetary requirements for its full implementation,” Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said.

Galvez said the ROTC program will have six phases, which begins with “curriculum development; selection and training of implementers; personnel, logistics and budget planning; selection of pilot volunteer schools based on results of evaluation of their facilities and capacities.”

This first phase is the preparation process, which the DND is now coordinating with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Commission on Higher Education (CHED), he said.

The second phase of the implementation of the ROTC program is “pilot programs and simulation in volunteered schools,” a DND statement said.

“The third phase is expansion to different regions; fourth is progressive implementation; fifth is the evaluation and further fine-tuning and the sixth is full implementation in schools,” it added.

But Galvez said the projected timeline from the enactment of the law for the mandatory ROTC program to its initial implementation is two to three years, with full implementation realized in the fifth year.

“The DND and AFP also intend to harness the expertise of the Regional Community Defense Groups of the Philippine Army, Air Reserve Centers of the Philippine Air Force and Naval Reserve Centers of the Philippine Navy all over the country in managing the ROTC program,” the DND said.

Galvez assured lawmakers led by Sen. Ronald dela Rosa that the DND gives its full support to Congress’ push for the enactment of a law calling for mandatory ROTC in higher educational institutions (HEIs).

It was reported that 9,000 to 10,000 military personnel would be needed to provide four officials per school, assuming that there are 2,400 HEIs implementing the ROTC program.