Amid the waning number of Reserve Officers’ Training Course (ROTC) graduates volunteering for the Ready Reserve, Senator Win Gatchalian has filed a resolution to conduct an inquiry into the implementation of the National Service Training Program (NSTP), particularly its ROTC component.
In filing Proposed Senate Resolution No. 97, Gatchalian noted that a “comprehensive review of the NSTP law, particularly its ROTC component is necessary to measure its effectiveness and introduce appropriate legislative measures or amendments in the existing law with the goal of strengthening the country’s Reserve Force.”
The legislator said that the implementation of NSTP Law in 2002 led to the “drastic reduction” of enrollment in the ROTC program.
“The drastic reduction of enrollment in the ROTC program created serious repercussions on the AFP Reserve Force.”
According to the lawmaker, from 314,225 in School Year (SY) 2000-2001, the number of enrollees dropped to 170,071 in SY 2002-2003, and further down to 106,892 in SY 2004-2005, “effectively creating serious repercussions on the AFP Reserve Force.”
“The state of the ROTC program today shows that it is challenged in many fronts – primarily issues not on waning enrollment but in a lack of ROTC graduates volunteering for the Ready Reserve, issues on leadership and diverse policies on designation of commandants in the ROTC units, the lack of manpower, logistics and funding, the lack of adequate training facilities,” the senator stressed.
“The Program of Instruction is not fitting to the generation of students.”
He added there were also “issues on the Program of Instruction, which is not congruent with the warfighting and nation-building mission of the Reserve Force to which the ROTC plays a vital role in producing the reservists it needs, as well as not fitting it to the generation of students today.”
Gatchalian argued that “while the existing NSTP classes stir up the civic consciousness of our students, these do not fully attain the objective of developing military and defense preparedness among our youth especially in light of non-traditional threats brought about by natural disasters and climate change, as well as threats against our national security.”
He recently refiled Senate Bill No, 177, which seeks to establish a mandatory two-year basic ROTC program for all senior high school students in private and public schools.
Under Gatchalian’s bill, the ROTC program would put a premium on disaster preparedness and capacity-building for risk-related situations.