Kabataan party-list Representative Sarah Elago is still not convinced that the proposed mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program will teach the Filipino youth of nationalism.
In a press conference held on Tuesday, Elago believed that ROTC would only make the youth to follow commands blindly and it would remove their ability to think freely.
“Ang natuturo po on the ground sa eskwelahan, imbes na disiplina, yung pagsunod na hindi ka nagtatanong. Hindi disiplina, kundi blind obedience lang,” Elago said.
She also pointed out that ROTC had a history of corruption and irregularities when it was implemented many years ago.
According to her, the government should solve those cases first before implementing ROTC back for senior high schools.
Another activist also said that ROTC would only teach the youth how to use weapons, however, he doubts that students would learn nationalism in the said program.
He suggested an alternative solution, saying that implementing Filipino and Panitikan in college subjects might teach nationalism to students.
ROTC was approved by the House of Representatives on Monday, getting a 167 support from lawmakers, only four opposed it during the voting.
According to the bill, students of Senior High School are required to undergo basic ROTC program.
But it also included that students who are physically or psychologically unfit can be exempted in the program.