THE NATIONAL Youth Commission on Thursday urged President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. to issue an executive order that will make Reserve Officers Training Corps program mandatory for college students.

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.

In a letter sent to Malacañang dated July 20, Cardema pointed out that ROTC, CAT and scouting were a priority during the time of President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

“It created a sense of nationalism, discipline and preparedness among young Filipinos, that can easily be tapped by the government to help the country in times of need,” he said.

“For 20 years since 2002, Congress failed to pass the many bills for its return. With you sir we see hope thru an Executive Order now, before the start of the classes,” he added.

Cardema also stressed that the Philippines should follow other countries such as Singapore, South Korea and Israel, which all implement mandatory military training.

“The population of the Philippines is far bigger than that of Singapore, Israel, and South Korea. We are a disaster-prone archipelago that is battered annually by typhoons, floods, earthquakes, other disasters, and a communist insurgency,” he said.

“With that, we need to start orienting/training the millions of Filipino youth towards disaster preparedness, good citizenship, national defense and to have a strong of nationalism starting now,” he added.

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.

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