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To To our dynamic dynamic adjudicators, adjudicators, our competitive competitive opponents, opponents, my dear proponents, everyone in this assembly, good day. Today, Today, we are faced with the proposition, proposition, “Let “Let it be resolved that ROTC ROTC be mandatory to all colleges and universities in the hilippines!. hilippines!. "ust before before # put forward my case, # will be de$ning the terms that will be used in this policy % ma&ing discussion. •
ROTC or the Reserve Ofcers Training Corps Program ' was
once an integral universal and indeed mandatory component of the early adulthood of all college % going men. Today, it is just one of the ( trac&s of the )ational *ervice Training rogram +)*T or the Civic -ducation rogram, which since // has been a re0uisite for graduation at all 1ilipino colleges, universities and some vocational •
schools. Mandatory' as a universal political de$nition means, “that which
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must be subscribed to or obeyed!. Colleges and universities' are a general one that encompasses a wide wide range range of higher higher educatio education n institut institution ions s includin including g those those that o2er to 3 year programs in the arts and sciences, technical and
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vocational schools and community colleges. Philippines' a demo democr crat atic ic coun countr try y situ situat ated ed in *out *outh h -ast -ast 4sia 4sia wher where e the the -5ec -5ecut utiv ive e ower ower is vest vested ed in the the res resid iden entt and and the the Cabinet, Legislative ower with the congress composed of a *enate and 6ouse of Representatives, and "udicial ower with the *upreme Courts.
Ladies and gentlemen, today, we are in the face of increasing tensions over the 7est hilippine *ea. The persisting threats posted by the domestic
and international terrorism and the increasing fre0uency and destructive force of recent national disasters. 8ndeniably, on a strategic level, the pervasiveness of the ROTC rogram provides a strong base of trained citi9en % soldiers that could be called upon in times of war or other crisis including, but not limited, to the ones #:ve mentioned. 8nfortunately, in accordance to the ;( th )ational Congress of )*T -ducators and #mplementers in /;;, the number of enrollees dramatically dropped from th )ational Convention of the )ational ROTC 4lumni 4ssociation. On an up % to % date basis, only ;3? of )*T enrollees opt for the ROTC trac&, and that gives way to our resident:s sound judgment of reinstating the ROTC as a mandatory programs in all colleges and universities of our country. *ince we are dealing with our country:s laws the parameter of this debate, certainly, will just go around the hilippine:s jurisdiction, laws, principles, and philosophies, so to spea&. 4s clich@ goes, # as the $rst spea&er will elaborate the necessity of the proposition to the status 0uo, the second spea&er will e5pound the bene$ts, the third spea&er will elucidate the doability and mechanisms, and lastly, the scribe will jot down all of the necessary information. Ladies and gentlemen, # have stri&ing points to prove that the proposition is indeed necessary to the status 0uo. 1. The proposition is consistent with the constitution, specically in rticle ! "ection #. !. There is an urgent need to train a ro$ust military %orce $ecause o% internal and e&ternal security threats and other issues that concern the wel%are o% our country.
Let me go bac& to my $rst point, the proposition is consistent with the constitution, speci$cally in 4rticle *ection 3, which states that “The rime
Auty of the Bovernment is to serve and protect the people. The Bovernment may call upon the people to defend the *tate and, in the ful$llment thereof, all citi9ens may be re0uired, under conditions provided by law, to render personal military or civil service. Ladies and gentlemen, there are ( well % settled principles of constitutional construction and this speci$c provision falls under verba legis since the words used are, and should be given their ordinary meaning and there are no technical terms employed. The Constitution is very clear in providing a compulsory military and civil service by the people. 8nder the concept, all citi9ens of the country are members of the citi9en forces. This is the underlying philosophy of the ROTC rogram, a belief in the role of 1ilipinos to be both citi9ens and soldiers % both the intellectual and martial guardians of our country:s democracy. *econd point, there is an urgent need to train a robust military force because of internal and e5ternal security and other issues that concern the welfare of our country. #t is undeniable that right now, over the past decade and a half, since the implementation of R4 ;D(, young 1ilipinos have become increasingly removed from the concept of military service. #t is worthy to recall that ROTC was not merely useful in terms of personal development but was a crucial pillar of )ational #dentity, owing to the fact that through ROTC rograms, young 1ilipinos are much imbued with the sense of discipline, a shared identity and let me 0uote it from resident Auterte, “Love of Country!. 4s a matter of fact, ladies and gentlemen, The hilippine 4ir 1orce +41 has admitted wea&nesses in territorial defense and disaster response. Eost de$nitely, this means that the proposition is a sure solution to the present status 0uo. Ladies and gentlemen, it will be irrational to deny the previous detriments of the ROTC program and just close our eyes to the inevitable but we, on the government side of the house hold on tight to the philosophy of
*tate'eople concordance to address the nationFs problems, li&e the ones # mentioned in the status 0uo. 7ith this, # temporarily rest my case.
