SENATOR Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa on Monday stressed that there will be no legal problems if foreign students will be covered by the proposed mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps or ROTC.

Dela Rosa said the proposed ROTC bill, which he endorsed last month for plenary approval, does not exempt anyone.

“Kagaya ng mga foreigners, mga foreigner na estudyante, you cannot subject them to love our country, to die for our country because they belong to another country and yet hindi pa rin sila exempted sa ROTC,” he said.

The senator said the bill mandates foreign citizens enrolled in baccalaureate degree courses or technical vocational courses to undergo a specialized program that will deepen their understanding and appreciation of the Philippines, its people, society, culture and government, and harness their potential as bridges to improve their respective countries with the Philippines.

Once the measure is passed into law, all students in Higher Educational Institutions and Technical Vocational Institutions will be mandated to undergo the basic ROTC or they will not be allowed to graduate.

However, the senator clarified that there will be a specialized program for students with disabilities, those whose religious beliefs prohibit the use of firearms, those who have been convicted by final judgment of crimes involving moral turpitude and foreign students.

The specialized program includes modules like the basic ROTC program except for physical military training.

Dela Rosa is confident that they can pass the mandatory ROTC bill within the year.

“Majority rules. We live in a democratic country. Alam ko naman na kokonti lang naman yung mga estudyante na ayaw, lalong lalo na yung mga identified with the Left. Ayaw na ayaw talaga nila and we know that,” he said.