ROTC Optional

Modified March 4, 2002

Republic Act 9163 supercedes Republic Act 7077 and Presidential Decree 1701 -- completely changing the way ROTC is conducted. More

ROTC is now on equal footing with other NSTP programs -- competing for enrollment.

ROTC Transformation

Modified December 10, 2001

The Chua rallying cry bore fruit with the issuance of the order to implement alternatives to ROTC. More to follow.

ROTC Abolition

The call for ROTC abolition has been brought to the fore in recent months by tragic events at the University of Santo Tomas, where a cadet officer was allegedly murdered for exposing corruption at the UST-ROTC unit.

Though moves to end mandatory ROTC are not new, the current round has noteworthy additions. Amongst the voices in the anti-ROTC rhetoric are the presidents of seven Metro Manila universities. The so-called "University-belt Consortium" published an official statement that called ROTC a cancer to be excised -- and pushed for its termination.

Ending mandatory ROTC training has been on the agenda of lawmakers and government officials since the Aquino administration. No less than the Secretary of National Defense, Fidel V. Ramos, proposed making the aforementioned training optional. In July 1992, editions of several national dailies featured caricatures of Ramos, by then President, turning a cadet away from the path to ROTC; "Ramos wants CMT out" the articles said. Subsequently, a number of senators submitted bills to change the training.

This section is devoted to monitoring these events.