SENATOR Imee Marcos has filed Senate Bill No. 749 seeking to establish a Citizen Service Program (CSP) that would mandate civic-oriented training for all students from elementary to college, amending the National Service Training Program Act of 2001.

The proposed measure requires students in both public and private schools—elementary, junior high, and senior high—to undergo a standardized program focusing on community service, disaster preparedness, and environmental protection.

“The government has the duty to equip citizens with the necessary capability and training to effectively respond to their sacred duty of defending the state,” Marcos said in her explanatory note, citing the Constitution’s provision on personal, military, or civil service.

At the tertiary level, the bill offers two tracks: citizen service and public safety, or the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) under Republic Act 7077.

While ROTC participation will remain optional, the measure provides incentives such as stipends, life and health insurance, free hospitalization for training-related injuries, and access to Armed Forces of the Philippines facilities and commissaries.

Marcos said the CSP also revives the ancient Filipino tradition of distinguishing between timawa or citizen service and maharlika or the military class, while aligning with international agreements such as UN Resolution 1261 on children’s rights in armed conflict.

The Department of Education, in coordination with the Department of National Defense, local government leagues, and private school associations, will be tasked to design and implement the program.

According to Marcos, the CSP aims to strengthen civic pride, reinforce bayanihan, and prepare communities to act as first responders during disasters, calamities, or terrorist attacks.

Funding for the program will be sourced from the annual national budget under the General Appropriations Act.