PRESIDENT Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. on Monday said that he will push for the mandatory Reserved Officers Training Corps and National Training Program program for senior high school students in all public and private schools.

In his State of the Nation Address, Marcos proposed the reconstitution of the ROTC and NSTP for Grade 11 and 12 students as one of the priority measures of his administration.

“The aim is to motivate, train, organize, and mobilize the students for national defense preparedness, including disaster preparedness and capacity building for risk-related situations,” he said.

The mandatory ROTC program was scrapped in 2002 following the passage of Republic Act 9163, an act establishing the National Service Training Program.

This came after the March 2001 killing of University of Santo Tomas student Mark Wilson Chua allegedly by his ROTC handlers.

The National Youth Commission earlier urged Marcos to issue an executive order that will make ROTC program mandatory for college.

NYC Chairman Ronald Cardema also asked Marcos to make the Citizens Army Training for high school and Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts program for elementary schools mandatory.

Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte-Carpio earlier hoped that the mandatory ROTC will be included in the next administration’s priority legislative agenda.