Kabataan Party bucks ROTC reinstatement, says yes to youth social involvement

Kabataan Party bucks ROTC reinstatement, says yes to youth social involvement

By INA ALLECO R. SLVERIO
Bulatlat.com
There’s no way they are going to allow ROTC training become mandatory again.

Kabataan Party-List and the youth and students organization Anakbayan have declared their determination to oppose proposals to once more make ROTC or the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) mandatory in all colleges and universities nationwide.

In a hearing of the Committee on Higher and Technical Education in Congress recently, Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino said he will stand against what he termed were “dangerous proposals to reverse and disregard the gains of students in their fight against an unrightful military training.” The youth lawmaker said that the ROTC has done more evil than good to those who underwent its training program.

The ROTC was mandatory to all college students since World War II but was incorporated into and became just one of the options in the National Service Training Program by virtue of Republic Act No. 9163 in 2001 after strong protests from students, faculty and administrative officials.

“The ROTC has taught its cadets how to become blind and docile servants. With its grim and bloody human rights record, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has no right to meddle with the academic affairs of our youth. A war-mongering and mercenary institution must not be allowed to infiltrate schools and teach students,” he said.

It is well known that the training system of ROTC is essentially lifted from that of the AFP. Palatino blasted the claim that the AFP-run program teaches the students how to be patriotic. Among the main reasons for the protests against the ROTC was the murder of University of Santo Tomas student Mark Chua who exposed irregularities in the ROTC unit of the university.

ROTC threatens academic freedom

“The AFP uses the program in its red-baiting campaign against progressive student groups. In many ROTC lectures, soldier-instructors conveniently tagged student activist groups as affiliated with the New People’s Army. The ROTC is clearly a threat to academic freedom,” Palatino said..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/01/27/kabataan-party-bucks-rotc-reinstatement-says-yes-to-youth-social-involvement/