Duterte certifies as urgent bill on mandatory ROTC

President Duterte certified as urgent the bill seeking the restoration of the mandatory Reserve Officers’
Training Corps (ROTC) program.According to Duterte restoring basic military and leadership training for
the youth would reinvigorate their sense of nationalism.These qualities are necessary in defending the
state and in further promoting the youth’s vital role in nation building.

The mandatory ROTC program was abolished after former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed the
National Service Training Program (NSTP) law in 2002.Under the law, ROTC is just one of three NSTP
components students can choose from, along with Civic Welfare Training Service and the Literacy
Training Service.The death of University of Santo Tomas cadet Mark Welson Chua in 2001 at the hands
of his officers and fellow UST cadets sparked a clamor for the scrapping of mandatory ROTC. Chua was
killed for exposing irregularities in the university’s ROTC program.(Romero 2019)

ROTC in international (Korean military struggles to recruit cadets)

According to the Army, the Korean Military Academy will announce an additional recruitment notice for
ROTC candidates in August. The decision comes as the application rate for the ROTC program hit a
record low this year, with the number of applicants falling short of the number of available spots.ROTC
is a college-based officer commissioning program, under which cadets undergo physical and military
education for four semesters and then serve for 24 to 36 months in the military after being
commissioned.

Beginning this year, the armed services decided to hold the ROTC commissioning ceremony twice a year
― in July in addition to their traditional March ceremonies ― so as to prevent cadets from dropping out
of the ROTC programsOne reason behind the falling popularity of the ROTC program is the long service
period, according to Shin Jong-woo, a senior researcher at the Korea Defense and Security Forum, a
think tank.

While enlisted soldiers currently serve 18 months in the army, junior officers have to serve 24 to 36
months depending on the army branch And considering that the military is striving to improve
treatment and payment condition of regular soldiers, young people are seeing less merit in the junior
officer position And if that happens, there will be little reason for young people to join the ROTC
program and become an officer which entails more responsibility and a heavier workload
The additional recruitment is aimed at diversifying the recruitment process to provide more
opportunities for talented individuals to apply for military officer positions. He also explained that the
military is currently attempting to increase the ROTC application rate by enhancing job stability,
expanding economic incentives and ensuring post-service employment conditions for the cadets.(Hyo-
jin 2023)