SIX out of 10 Filipinos support the proposed mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps Program in Senior High School, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian cited the results of the latest Pulse Asia survey that revealed that 69 percent of Filipinos agree to the proposed Mandatory ROTC.

The survey, commissioned by Gatchalian, revealed that 71 percent of respondents in the National Capital Region and 78 percent in Visayas support the proposed program. Its supporters in Balance Luzon was pegged at 67 percent and 64 percent in Mindanao.

Gatchalian said Senate Bill 387 which seeks the institutionalization and administration of the Basic ROTC program for students enrolled in Grades 11 and 12 is one of his priority measures for the 19th Congress.

The Basic ROTC Program will include basic military training to motivate, train, organize and utilize students for national defense preparedness or civil-military operations.

The bill provides, however, that no student below the age of 18 shall take direct part in hostilities.

The program also includes civic training and disaster preparedness and response training.

It will also enhance the capacity of the nation to produce the needed manpower and expand the country’s human resources in times of war, calamities and disasters.

It will also support the law enforcement strategy of the government against crimes by creating a pool of trained reservists.