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As progressive youth groups from different universities gathered yesterday, March 18, to remember the murder of ROTC Cadet Mark Welson Chua 22 years prior, they say that the legislature’s current push to make the Reserve Officer’s Training Course mandatory again is a disservice to Chua’s memory.

READ: https://sinag.press/news/2023/03/18/punto-por-punto-walang-dahilan-para-isantabi-ang-kasaysaysayan-ng-rotc/

“Ang pag-alala sa pagpaslang kay Mark Welson Chua ay ang paglaban sa pagraratsada ng panunumbalik ng Mandatory ROTC ng ating estado,” said Panday Sining – UST.

Struggle against the system

Chua, a mechanical engineering student from UST himself, was murdered after exposing rampant corruption, bribery, and extortion in their school’s ROTC program.

Chua, alongside fellow Engineering sophomore Romulo Yumul, disclosed the corruption to The Varsitarian, UST’s student publication.

Their story was published in the article “Struggle against the system,” on February 21, less than a month before Chua’s death.

The article detailed how the two sophomores filed a complaint with the Department of National Defense, eventually leading to the termination of UST-ROTC commandant, Maj. Demy Tejares.

Their testimony in the article recounted cases of undue financial burdens placed on students, many of whom were forced to purchase patches and manuals for ROTC despite barely having enough money for day-to-day expenses.

They also mentioned cases of bribery, where well-off students could buy their way out of the program’s physical training, and a lack of learning, as students were left out in the sun learning nothing because of inefficiencies in the program, and even an incident where one officer pointed a gun at another out of anger.

After the article was published, Chua started receiving death threats.

By March 15, Chua had already gone missing.

By March 18, three days later they had already found his decomposing body, wrapped in a carpet near the Jones Bridge in the Pasig River.

Only two of the four suspects in the killing — both ROTC cadets — have been imprisoned: Arnulfo Appari in 2004, and Eduardo Tabrilla in 2006.

The two other suspects, Paul Joseph Tan and Michael Von Rainard Manangbao, still remain at large.

A struggle for justice

But now, with the whereabouts of the two other killers still unknown and without clear safeguards to prevent the abuses from happening again, the legislature wants to railroad measures to make ROTC mandatory again.

On December 15, 2022, Congress approved the National Citizens Service Training Program (NCSTP) Act by a 276-4-1 vote.

The act, while washing its hands of the ROTC name, still requires students to study for two years under a military-supervised program.

The NCSTP Act removes the option to take up the Civic Welfare and Training Service (CWTS) and the Literacy Training Service (LTS) components of the National Service Training Program (NSTP).

In the Senate, meanwhile, Senators are pushing for Mandatory ROTC without hesitation, insisting on calling the measure exactly what it is.

The Senate subcommittee’s sessions have previously been criticized for setting aside youth voices and leaving no room for students in their hearings despite the sector being the bill’s primary stakeholder.

READ: https://sinag.press/news/2023/01/24/anti-student-anti-youth-bato-is-afraid-of-being-exposed-nusp/

On Chua’s death anniversary, the groups said that these moves are insults to his memory.

“Kahit na 22 taon na ang nakakalipas, malinaw parin ang mensaheng iniwan ni Mark Welson Chua at ng pagkamatay niya: ang Mandatory ROTC ay bulok. Tinuturuan lang nito ang kabataan na mangurakot at mang-abuso ng kapwa. Kapag binalik nila ito, para na rin nilang nilapastangan ang alaala ni Chua,” said Anakbayan Deputy Spokesperson Amanda Verdadero.

Anakbayan said that amidst all of the problems that the youth face today, the government should put ROTC’s proposed initial five-year budget of P61.2 billion into building classrooms and providing financial aid instead.

“Ang immediate needs ng kabataan at ng mga pamilya nila ay living wage at suporta sa edukasyon. Nakakapanghinayang yung P61.2 billion na budget proposal para sa Mandatory ROTC. 165,000 ang kulang na classrooms sa Pilipinas ngayon, bakit hindi nalang yun ang paglaan?” said their spokesperson.

The Student Christian Movement of the Philippines, meanwhile, was particularly concerned about the culture of violence and impunity brought about by ROTC.

“Violence against Chua is not an isolated case in the ROTC program. Physical, mental, and sexual abuses under ROTC have been well-documented throughout the years, even after it was made optional. Moreover, ROTC has been used to red-tag progressives and cripple academic freedom inside schools,” said SCMP national spokesperson Kej Andres.

The Christian youth organization said that they are committed to opposing the measure to make ROTC mandatory again, and enjoin other youth groups to join the fight as well.

“Justice does not only mean that we find and put into trial the two remaining suspects in the killing of Chua. Complete justice for Mark Welson Chua also means that the dangerous and deadly Mandatory ROTC would not be reimposed again,” Andres said.

Their local chapter in UP Diliman likewise believes that, to achieve justice, the youth must vehemently oppose Mandatory ROTC.

“If we do not end the vicious cycle of senseless abuse in the hands of the military, there will never be justice for not only Mark, but the other victims of military-led reactionary violence!” They said in a statement.

The featured image is courtesy of the Varsitarian