[NEWS]
“Anti-student, anti-youth Bato is afraid of being exposed” – NUSP
The National Union of Students of the Philippines condemned the lack of youth representation in the discussions on the Mandatory ROTC bill being railroaded in the Senate, saying Sen. Bato Dela Rosa, head of the subcommittee handling the bill is “simply afraid of being exposed–again–as anti-student and anti-youth as he bends over backwards to follow Marcos Jr.’s directives,”
Tomorrow, January 25, the subcommittee is set to discuss six bills that, like the version in the House of Representatives, includes forced military training, forced enlistment, campus militarization, and more fees for students.
However, unlike the National Citizens Service Training Program Bill or HB 6687, most of the proposed measures blatantly call themselves either ROTC bills or “basic military and police training.”
Despite being primary stakeholders of the bill, the Senate has made no attempts to consult the youth or students on these proposals.
“Students have time and again registered their opposition to the revival of mandatory ROTC due to the added burdens and costs and the threat to academic freedom it imposes. It must be remembered the program was made optional for its history of abuse and corruption,” they said.
The College Editors Guild of the Philippines also slammed the railroading of the bills, saying that “Marcos-Duterte loyalist lawmakers” like Dela Rosa disregard the youth sector’s opposition to Mandatory ROTC.
“Just by having military and police officers present while youth and students do not have even one representative speaks so much of whom this Senate MROTC bill is meant for. Not for the youth, not for the students, but for the Marcos-Duterte-Dela Rosa agenda of blind obedience and fake nationalism.,” the guild asserted.
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Progressive youth group Anakbayan also registered their opposition to the bill, saying that instead of burdening the youth with Mandatory ROTC, students want the government to focus on providing free, quality, and accessible education
“Sen. Ronaldo “Bato dela Rosa, hinahamon ka namin: Kung talagang Mandatory ROTC ang sigaw ng kabataan, imibitahan mo sila sa susunod na hearing!”
The youth groups challenged other lawmakers to stand in solidarity with the youth, and demanded youth representation in all discussions about Mandatory ROTC.
They also invited students and other concerned individuals to join the mobilizations in front of the Senate gate tomorrow at 10:30 AM.
#NoToMandatoryROTC
#DefendOurSchools
Featured image courtesy ofInteraksyon
