Maniolas

A group of active and retired military and police generals on Wednesday called for the revival of the mandatory Reserve Officers Training Course (ROTC) in college. In a resolution, the Association of Generals and Flag Officers (AGFO) said mandatory ROTC, which was abolished over a decade ago, will instill patriotism among male college students. It said the current setup under National Service Training Program Act of 2001 has been “insufficient” in instilling “the values of discipline and patriotism required of every citizen.” The group added that the present setup, where ROTC is only optional and voluntary, “do not address the military training ideally required of every citizen.” “(More than) 10 years after the abolition of the ROTC as mandatory program, there is now a growing sentiment that the national defense preparedness of our nation has not been served well since the alternative programs in the National Service Training Program are deemed insufficient to inculcate the values of discipline and patriotism required of every citizen and do not address the military training ideally required of every citizen,” AGFO said. The group also said that “geopolitical developments in the Asia Pacific Region have accentuated the weakness of the Philippine defense posture and exposed the very limited capabilities of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) to defend the national sovereignty.” AGFO is currently headed by retired Army Lt. Gen. Edilberto Adan, the executive director of the Visiting Forces Agreement Commission. The mandatory ROTC program was scrapped in 2002 following the passage of Read More …