Padilla admits he lost hope on passage of Mandatory ROTC Bill in Senate

Senator Robin Padilla on Thursday admitted that he already lost hope on the passage of the Mandatory Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) Program Bill in the Senate.

"Nawalan na ako ng pag-asa. Dalawang taon na eh. Para sa akin, ano pang inaantay natin kasi isa to sa plataporma ko nu'ng tumakbo ako. Finile natin ito. Dadalawang taon na ako dito, wala pa rin," Padilla said in an interview with reporters.

(I already lost hope that the bill will be passed in the Senate. It has been two years already. What are we waiting for? That legislation was one of my campaign promises and I also filed a bill on that. Until now, it has not progressed here.)

Before the interview, Padilla led the rollout of the Philippine Navy Reserve Force recruitment program among Senate employees.

For Padilla, he will just push for the recruitment of more reservists through his own initiatives.

"Siguro, sarili ko na lang, makumbinsi ko 'yung mga tao kasi para sa akin napakagandang halimbawa nito, 'pag nalaman ito ng mga kababayan natin na dito sa Senado may reservists na, siguro magkakaroon ng mga programa pa," he said.

(Maybe, I will just recruit more reservists through my own initiative like this program that we did in the Senate. Once our countrymen know about this reservist program in the Senate, I think there will be more programs that might follow.)

Further, Padilla appealed for more funding support to the Armed Forces of the Philippines' (AFP) Reserve Force.

"Kasi kakaunti ang budget. Sana makadagdag kami ng budget doon para makapag-engganyo pa tayo sa ibang lugar," he said.

(The budget for the reserve force is minuscule. I hope that we can add more budget for this program so we can encourage more Filipinos across the country to join the force.)

Padilla's statements came after pollster OCTA Research reported recently that 77% of adult Filipinos were willing to fight for the Philippines should a conflict erupt with a foreign entity.

The mandatory ROTC program was scrapped in 2002 following the passage of Republic Act 9163, an act establishing the NSTP (National Service Training Program).

Support for ROTC

Padilla's allies in the Senate have recently expressed support for the revival of the mandatory ROTC program.

"I fully support the revival of the ROTC program as part of our defense program and the overall goal of instilling discipline in our youth. Kung talagang gusto nating tumulong sa bansa, ang Reserve force ay isang tamang paraan (The Reserve force is one way to help our country the right away)," Tolentino said.

Meanwhile, Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, principal sponsor of the Mandatory ROTC Program Bill and an alumnus of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), emphasized that without the mandatory ROTC program, the Philippine defense posture would be "very weak" and "vulnerable," especially amid rising tensions in the West Philippine Sea.

"Kailangan talaga nating handa palagi. Hindi naman pupwedeng hindi tayo handa. Kasi pagdating dito sa national security, national territory, ultimately, you need a credible defense. So, we cannot have credible defense if we don't have enough reserves. We cannot produce enough reserves if we don't have the ROTC program," Dela Rosa said.

(We should always be prepared. We cannot afford otherwise. When it comes to national security, national territory, ultimately, you need a defense posture. So, we cannot have credible defense if we don't have enough reserves. We cannot produce enough reserves if we don't have the ROTC program."

"Pagkaubos ng sundalo mo, saan ka kukuha ng pang suporta sa sundalo? Ibig sabihin 'yung ating pasigaw-sigaw d'yan na lumaban tayo sa West Philippine Sea, hanggang rhetorics lang 'yon? Walang kaukulang aksyon? Papakitang tao lang tayo?" he quipped.

(When you run out of soldiers, where will you get the supporting troops? Those who keep calling to fight at the West Philippine Sea — are those all rhetorics? What about the corresponding action? Are these just for show?)

Other means

On the other hand, Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros reiterated her opposition to the bill, saying there are other means that Filipinos can show their patriotism.

For her, the Senate should continue ensuring proper support for the AFP, especially to the Philippine Navy, instead of passing the proposed legislation.

"Tingin ko habang umiinit sa West Philippine Sea, ang pinaka-tamang course of action namin bilang Senado ay ipagpatuloy at judiciously dagdagan ang suporta sa military modernization lalo na sa Philippine Navy at pagsasaayos ng iba't iba pang aspeto ng national defense, at 'di gawing excuse 'yan ang isang tingin ko hindi tamang policy direction, na gawing mandatory ang ROTC sa mga mamamayan natin na hindi naman yon ang paraan nila para mag-silbi kay Inang Bayan," she said.

(While tensions are rising in the West Philippine Sea, I think the best course of action of the Senate is to continue and judiciously give support to military modernization, especially to the Philippine Navy and fix all other aspects of our national defense. We should not use this as an excuse for what I think is a wrong policy direction to make ROTC mandatory to our citizens especially to those who don't want this to be their means of serving the motherland.) — VDV, GMA Integrated News