SENATOR Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa on Wednesday stressed that the Reserve Officers Training Corps Program is ‘not an entirely new animal’ in the Philippines and its necessity was already acknowledged by our forefathers.

“Hindi naman ‘yan bagong kosepto. That was already institutionalized long before you were born. Para sa mga kumokontra ngayon, matagal na yan. Nand’yan na ‘yan kasi alam ng mga ninuno natin na kailangan natin yung pag-organize ng reserve force, ng ating depensa at para nga sa disiplina ng kabataan,” Dela Rosa said.

“That is not an entirely new animal. It has been there since time immemorial. During the Commonwealth period pa nand’yan na ‘yan. So I dont think masa-shock pa sila d’yan and all other countries, all neighboring countries merong mga ganong programa,” he added.

Dela Rosa is one of the senators who filed a bill seeking to impose mandatory ROTC programs on students.

In March 2023, Dela Rosa sponsored Committee Report No. 64 containing Senate Bill 2034 which consolidated all bills on the mandatory ROTC program.

Under the bill, the mandatory basic ROTC program will be imposed to all students enrolled in not less than two-year undergraduate degree, diploma, or certificate programs in higher education institutions and technical-vocational institutions.

The bill is currently under the period of interpellations.