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ABOLISH!
. . . a network for the abolition of the ROTC
(Obtained
from a member of the College Editor's Guild of the Philippines
- Ateneo de Davao)
Petition
Paper for the Abolition of ROTC
We
have had enough of the oppressive system that is the Reserve
Officer Training Corps. With strongest convictions and unshaken
principles, we shall:
Refuse
to accept and tolerate the corruption that ROTC breeds. It
has victimized many students cadets and distorted their sense
of honesty and truth by subjecting them to red tape and extortion.
Corruption
can not be restricted to a certain officer/official crooks
but is inherent in the system. Paid attendance sheets, several
hundred peso bills and bottles of wine for a semester's training
and other exhorbitant fees are what define this military science.
The
death of University of Sto. Tomas cadet Mark Welson Chua is
a death brought about by brutal violence to defend and protect
the corruption that is imbedded within. Many lives have been
taken as well with decades of hazing, verbal and physical
abuse and violence.
Resist
the repressive orientation that ROTC assimilates and exposes
the young cadets to. The mercenary tradition of the Philippine
military creeps into every young cadet's life with every training
indoctrination of a twisted sense of nationalism, service
and valor.
Bankrupt
is the statement of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Imbibing
military discipline can never be equated to patriotism or
love of country. Military presence in schools has only served
to expose and endanger the youth to its oppresive culture.
It is not only the scorching heat of the sun that the young
cadets and students are exposed to but the bare-faced threat
of military surveillance and hostility.
Abolish
the corrupt and oppressive ROTC. Its continued presence will
harbor among the student cadets the culture of violence and
hatred.
As
we demand justice for Chua's death, we shall critically and
relentlessly examine, expose and call for the abolition of
ROTC. His and other young cadets' undeserved release only
reinforces our concept and umbrage over it.
It
has not proven at all to instill positive social values. History
says it so with many schools' social orientation programs
that fostered among the youth constructive discipline, awareness
and responsibility and being "for others" that the
ROTC has miserably failed to provide.
We
resist and refuse the continuance of the ROTC program. We
shall fight head on, our chins up, stomachs in and chests
out until it has been completely eradicated.
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