Last January 19, vice presidential candidate Sara Duterte-Carpio announced that if she wins the upcoming elections in May, she will push for mandatory military service for all Filipinos upon reaching the age of 18.
More militarization
Duterte-Carpio said she will use the Office of the Vice President, whose job according to the Constitution is to replace the President if circumstances require, to lobby the needed legislation to Congress.
“We see this being done in other countries like South Korea and Israel. It would not be like the ROTC that’s just one subject, or one weekend, or one month in one year … You will be given a subsidy, you will be asked to serve the country, doon sa ating Armed Forces of the Philippines,” she stated during UniTeam Alliance’s virtual caravan which featured also her running mate Bongbong Marcos and their initial senatorial line-up.
The Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) she mentioned is a voluntary course included in the National Service Training Program (NSTP) for Filipino college students. Her father, President Rodrigo Duterte, has been pushing for the revival of the mandatory ROTC since he assumed office in 2016; although his efforts did not materialize.
The once mandatory ROTC became optional in 2002 following the killing of University of Santo Tomas cadet Mark Welson Chua after he exposed corruption in his school’s ROTC unit.
‘Violation of basic rights’
Duterte-Carpio’s statement received strong reactions from various groups, legislators, and his father’s critics on social media.
In a statement last Thursday, human rights alliance Karapatan slammed the presidential daughter’s proposal for compulsory military training.
Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said:
“It violates basic civil and political rights such as the right to freedom of thought, beliefs, and conscience, especially if you are forced to provide service or fight in unjust wars or repressive endeavors of the State,”Palabay furthered.
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Fellow VP bet Walden Bello also criticized Sara’s proposal, and emphasized strengthening of social services is much more needed than a costly militarization program.
“Public service, disaster preparedness, social welfare — none of these need military service. They need the exact opposite: demilitarization,” Bello said in a tweet.
False Nationalism
Patriotism was one of the reasons behind Sara’s push for military conscription. However, Kabataan National President and first nominee Raoul Manuel said that implementing mandatory military service would only subject students to “a false notion of nationalism.”
“Hindi lang nakakulong ‘dun sa military service ‘yung definition ng pagmamahal natin sa bayan,” Manuel said in an exclusive interview with SINAG.
He added: “Walang tao na willingly na papasok sa ganoong [military service] institusyon na libre ‘yung mga serbisyo tapos magiging canon fodder lamang tayo sa mga anti-people wars ni President Duterte,”
Manuel once served as a resource speaker for the student sector in a 2019 Senate committee hearing on the proposed mandatory ROTC program. He presented a position paper that included a list of human rights violations under the ROTC program.
With a government implementing a bloody drug war and brutal counter-insurgency, many youth and students showed disapproval of Sara’s proposal. They too think that mandatory military service is a false notion of nationalism and is not necessary.
Culture of Violence, Red-tagging
Manuel also pointed out the culture of violence within military institutions, and even in the current ROTC program despite it being an optional course.
“Kahit sa ngayong optional ang ROTC … meron pa ring mga nangyayaring abuso. May mga reports pa rin ng harassments in different ways,”he said.
Inside the Philippine Military Academy, the death of Cadet Darwin Dormitorio angered citizens and exposed the tradition of hazing in military institutions. In 2019, an ROTC cadet in Iloilo, Willie Amihoy, was also killed by his officer.
Given the brutalities of the military institution, Manuel stated that there are several alternatives the government can implement aside from purely militaristic policies.
“‘Yung gobyerno natin tinanggal ‘yung Philippine History sa high school. Ang kailangan nga ay dapat na nandyan siya at (alamin) paano pa paghuhusayin ang pagtuturo niya sa ating kabataan,”
In 2014, the Department of Education (DepEd) withdrew Philippine History as part of the curriculum of secondary education. Today, it is only being taught in grades 5 and 6. Students who wish to learn it again can only do so in college.
Moreover, Manuel also stressed that the government should stop “red-tagging and demonizing” student and youth organizations which have exacerbated under the Duterte administration.
“Dapat ay suportahan ang ating student and youth organizations dahil ito ‘yung training ground para sa maraming kabataan para mag-learn ng leadership skills tapos maging of service talaga based sa ano ‘yung tingin nila ay kanilang mga strengths at ano rin ang interests nila sa halip ‘yung ganitong sapilitang pagpapasali sa military service or sa ROTC,”Manuel asserted.
Various youth organizations have expressed the same sentiments, stressing that students must instead be geared with “civic consciousness” rather than misguided compliance with violent measures.
“Leaders of the country, if they genuinely care about the youth’s social participation and national consciousness, should push to instill an education that is nationalistic, scientific, and mass oriented; not militaristic and despotic,” National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) stated.
Several cases of harassment and abuse have been previously documented under the mandatory ROTC. More than 15 cases of violence were reported from 1995-2017, usually involving acts of hazing, red-tagging, and direct assault.
Militarization of pandemic response
In this time of pandemic, Manuel stresses that government efforts should center on healthcare, livelihood, and public services instead of militarization programs. He opposes the administration’s highly militarist crisis response and calls for a people-oriented approach in handling the worsening pandemic.
“Ang mga frontliners natin nagmamakaawa para mabigyan ng kanilang special risk allowance [at] dagdag na sahod … [Kaya] we can’t blame them kung mag-aabroad sila [kasi] ‘nung early part pa nga ng pandemic sila pa ‘yung gustong gawing pang-barter ng gobyerno para makakuha ng bakuna.”
He compared this to compensation and budget of the armed forces: “‘Yung military natin tiba-tiba. Sila ay binubusog ng general’s pork though the budget of the NTF-ELCAC na hindi mabita-bitawan ng ating gobyerno.”
Last December 2021, the Senate approved a 17-billion 2022 budget for the heavily-criticized NTF-ELCAC. In contrast, PGH – one of the country’s largest COVID-19 centers — was deducted 500-million peso funding this year. Health workers have also complained about the measly amount of their SRA – being a maximum of only 5,000 pesos last year — which had been delayed for several months.
Kabataan in action
According to Manuel, Kabataan Party-list, the first and only youth sectoral party in Congress, has filed several House Resolutions seeking to investigate systemic abuses of military and police forces.
The party is also consistent with its campaigns against state-sponsored violence under Duterte’s administration.
Manuel calls on the Filipino youth to join the fight against state repression, which has enforced a culture of fear and terror among the youth, and impunity among brazen government officials and their military forces.
“We have no recourse but to fight back together. Kung systematic ang pagre-repress sa’tin dapat systematic and organized din ang ating sagot para i-defend ang ating mga karapatan mula sa lahat ng attempts ng current government na tanggalin ito sa atin.”
Featured image courtesy of Philippine Lifestyle News
