ON Monday, the KABATAAN Partylist condemned the administration’s push to revive the Mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps at the tertiary level.

Earlier, Senator Francis Tolentino disclosed that Malacañang had given the go-ahead to fast-track the passage of the Mandatory ROTC Bill.

“While 28 State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) face a collective ₱14.4 billion budget cut, it is disheartening that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is prioritizing the passage of a ₱61.2 billion Mandatory ROTC program, which will add to the burden of students, faculty, and administrators who already struggle with inadequate classrooms,” the group said.

They further criticized the administration for committing more than four times the budget needed by SUCs for a program that has previously been linked to abuses and deaths among students.

“Paano magiging makabayan ang kabataan na di makapag-aral ng kasaysayan o makapag-isip ng sariling ambag sa bayan kung bulok at di sapat ang mga pasilidad? Dahil dito maraming natutulak na mangibang bansa kalaunan dahil di sila naalagaan sa sarili nating bayan. Love for country is not gained from love for the military,” they added.

“51% po ang inakyat ng budget para sa defense sector. Sana ang estudyante din priority, di lang ang pagbusog sa military. Dagdag espasyo at serbisyo para sa mga estudyante, kalayaang akademiko at pagbigay daan sa pag-oorganisa at pakikilahok ng mga estudyante batay sa mga isyung panlipunan, sa NSTP man o labas nito, ang kailangan para isulong muli ang nasyonalismo ni Rizal at Bonifacio. Dapat matutong lumaban ang kabataan,” they stressed.