KABATAAN Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel is pushing for a resolution opposing the reinstatement of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program in higher education.

Manuel, along with the Justice for Mark Welson Chua Network, filed House Resolution No. 2254, which seeks to prevent the mandatory reinstatement of ROTC due to ongoing abuses and violations of students’ rights.

The resolution also calls on the appropriate House committees to investigate the ROTC program’s implementation in aid of legislation.

It outlines several major incidents of abuse under the ROTC program, including cases as recent as early 2025, demonstrating a persisting pattern despite safeguards and reforms under the National Service Training Program (NSTP) Act of 2001.

These abuses include hazing, physical and verbal mistreatment, red-tagging, and unfair grading. Additionally, some incidents highlight how the program has allegedly been misused by the military for forced enrollments and the formation of student intelligence networks.

The resolution asserts that reinstating mandatory ROTC without addressing its historical and ongoing issues contradicts the government’s constitutional duty to protect the youth from harm.

Furthermore, it urges the House of Representatives to reconsider its approval of House Bill 6687 or the National Citizens Service Training (NCST) Bill, which was passed in 2022.