THE SAMAHAN ng Progresibong Kabataan slammed Congress for not considering the input of the youth in drafting and revising bills on the Reserved Officers’ Training Corps and the National Citizens Service Training.

“To date, there were about 27 House bills and six Senate bills that pertain to NCST or ROTC, and none of them have involved public hearings or consultations of any kind,” SPARK National Coordinator John Lazaro said.

“This week’s hearings are going to be small-group discussions of dozens of out-of-touch boomer senators making decisions about the lives and safety of millions of Filipino students. No amount of circumvention of procedures will make this bill more agreeable,” he added.

The group found it appalling that no youth or student organizations were consulted in the drafting of NCST and ROTC.

“Congress is basically bulldozing houses without talking to the residents,” Lazaro said.

“An invitation to a representative from the Kabataan Partylist, or a president of a student council or even any ordinary senior high school student, is surely a no-brainer for any senator with a grain of sense,” he added.