Tolentino hopes Congress will pass mandatory ROTC

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — After the successful staging of the Philippine ROTC Games 2023 in Mindanao, Sen. Francis Tolentino expressed yesterday his optimism that the two-year mandatory Basic Military and Police Training program in college would be passed in Congress.

Tolentino, honorary chairman of the Philippine ROTC Games (PRG), said the activity drew strong interest from the youth sector based on the number of those who participated in the games, which is now on its way for the Luzon qualifying leg.

“I can already see the (passage of) mandatory ROTC. Right now (it) is still optional and the measure is still pending in the Senate,” he said during the closing of the weeklong sporting event.

Tolentino filed Senate Bill 1565 that seeks to make the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps or ROTC mandatory for two years among college and vocational courses students in both public and private learning institutions.

Under the measure, students who fail to go through the program would not qualify for graduation. It also gives those who complete it the option to take on the advanced military program.