Divine Word College of Calapan Senior High School

OUTLOOK ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ROTC AMONG GRADE 11 STEM

STUDENTS IN DWCC : A CASE STUDY

Presented to the Faculty of the School of Basic Education

Divine Word College of Calapan

In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Academic Strand

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

KIMBERLY ANN P. LOPEZ

ALJON B. JAVIER

JOHN WESLEY MACARAIG

SYMONETTE JOYCE Q. MANALO

JERECHO M. REYES

October 2019
 Divine Word College of Calapan Senior High School
Outlook On The Implementation Of ROTC Among Grade 11 STEM Students in
DWCC : A Case Study

Introduction

Education has a vital role in our community and country,it serves as our

weapon in establishing one's self in the platform of the world. ROTC has been a part

of the Philippines educational system since the Spanish Colonial Period and the

Outbreak of World War 1, wherein the government reinforced an armed training

forces involving the youth. ROTC is a program that specializes in training the youth

to become a part of the Armed Forces Of The Philippines (AFP) and prepare them

to be a honorable citizen of the Philippines. This reserved force is expected to fill

demands in case of a war or a disaster.

In line with this ROTC is one of the courses in the National Service Training

Program (NSTP) of the Government under the National Service Training Program

Act (Republic Act 9163). Other than ROTC there are other courses in the program

such as Civil Welfare Training Service (CWTS) and Literacy Training Service (LTS)

are options for students to choose from. This is similar to the Executive Order No.

59 s. 1967 that is signed by the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos known as

National Service Law. This formed the three components of the national service :

military(exhibited by ROTC); Law Enforcement and Civil Welfare as his agenda of

strengthening military .

In other words, ROTC stands for Reserve Officers Training Corp.A

prominent program by the government for students in secondary or college. It aims

to train military discipline, courtesy, and skills of the students under the curriculum.

It also strives to develop the leadership skills in order to produce able-bodied and
 Divine Word College of Calapan Senior High School
military ready students especially in the times of need. There are people that are not

allow to undergo such training especially those that are physically handicapped or

those that are recommended by doctors to not participate due to their possible health

issues.

However, this army training curriculum for students faced problems since

it's creation resulting to countless reports and articles that aimed to abolish the

program. According to Jepoyo (2017) said that the ROTC was first implemented in

the year 1935 and was made mandatory for all colleges .But it was abolished due to

the extremities that involves hazing, corruption and killing that leads to the death of

a cadet student in UST.”Casual surfing of Filipino Websites often reveal short essays

and articles that perceived the pointlessness of the program. Student Groups also

occasionally took matter up and roster their grievance and hate towards the

program” ARESCOM (2016).This shows the effect of the incident that further yields

to the reenactment of the NSITP Law of 2001.

Moreover, On the 17’th of February 2017 a law was approved by President

Rodrigo Duterte that revive the ROTC and promised students changes than the

previous and pushed this program to be mandatory to all students . That particularly

aimed to increase the level of patriotism among students. The measure of this

program includes Grades XI and Grades XII students. He said that the new ROTC

is not worthy of corruption and that there will never be hazing or sexual harrasment

.The Armed Forces Of the Philippines also pledged to have restrictions to avoid the

incident that happens before.

 Divine Word College of Calapan Senior High School
President Duterte also said that the Mandatory ROTC program in Grade 11 and 12

could help to develop and deepen national love and a good moral citizen of the

Philippines.

According to the 1987 Constitution Of The Republic Of The Philippines

Article 2 Section 8 “The State recognizes the important role of youth in the

development of the country and must promote and protect their physical,moral,

spiritual,intellectual and social welfare .It will established in the youth patriotism and

nationalism and will encourage their participation in public and civic activities.”

The Researchers finds this topic as a timely issue in our country especially

the lack of their knowledge when it comes to the implementation of the ROTC

through this research ,they will value and know the importance of having a

mandatory ROTC especially in strengthening patriotism through the perception of

Grade 11 STEM students in DWCC.

Objectives of the Study

This paper aims to analyze the outlook on the implementation of ROTC

among GradeMore specifically, this paper seeks to answer the following objectives:

to objective number 1; to objective number 2; and, to conduct a case study.

Assumptions of the Study

1. The academic performance of the students in DWCC SHS Department are both

high and low in accordance to their ratings every after their major exams.
 Divine Word College of Calapan Senior High School
Review of Related Literature.

Implementation of ROTC

The establishment of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC)

primarily focuses on its main goals: to instill the senses of nationalism and

patriotism among the youth, to prepare them for a noteworthy leadership and

citizenship and utmost, to develop leaders and militia of high-quality in the future

ready to defend and stand up for the betterment of the state and its people. The

future of morale and safety of a nation lies on the shoulders of our armed forces. It

is vital even at a young age, being able-bodied for such trainings to actively engage

in our progress and emancipating safety of the nation and the public’s development

as well.

ROTC has been a long established part of the educational system as a

training ground for army reserve members."The most prominent argument on

behalf of ROTC is the traditional “citizen soldier” rationale, which emphasizes how

ROTC can broaden the military’s exposure to high levels of the civilian mind. In this

line of argument, officers trained by ROTC are more likely to balance military virtues

with a commitment to the norms of civil society and the constitutional order. This

balance is good for the Philippines because, among other things, it can enhance

effective civilian control of the military. The contemporary viability of the citizen

soldier concept has occasioned much debate, but it continues to be a useful and

important aspiration in a polity in which deep respect for constitutional principles

coexists with substantial defense obligations and needs." (Dawns, 2011)

 Divine Word College of Calapan Senior High School
A study was conducted by Smith (2013) that assess the effectiveness of

mentoring in the grooming of future leaders . This is an aspect of ROTC that is

done in a formal process of Cadet Leadership Education. Smith found that

individuals who were mentored perceived themselves to have learned how to be a

better leader that is rather beneficial for a citizen to have obligations for the sake of

our country.

As cited in Article VI, Section 35 of the Commonwealth Act No. 1 or the

National Defense Act of 1935, the concept of ROTC came into its being with only

schools and institutions designated by the President to maintain and establish a

Reserve Officers’ Training Units, mandatory for every physically fit student to

pursue a course of military instruction designed to qualify him for a commission as

a Third Lieutenant of reserve with a power to choose where would he want to render

service.

The military program’s model was in parallel with that of the United States of

America which started in 1862 where it was instigated as an elective for college

students. (Changco & Santiago, 2013)

According to Farolan (2016), one of the ROTC's resurgence has sprouted

due to the tension seen in the regional territorial dispute in the west Philippine sea

where the Chinese claimed it. And if ROTC is mandatory for students in Grade XI

and Grade XII they will be prepared as officers who can be called immediately to

defer the country of any occupation. The ROTC also saw the importance of the

recent super typhoon in the Visayas Region where many died and destroyed
 Divine Word College of Calapan Senior High School
property. The ROTC Cadet can help save and deliver relief goods to disaster

victims.

It was then Valenzuela City Senator Win Gatchalian filed and sponsored

House Bill No. 2338, which seeks to make Reserve Officers' Training Corps

(ROTC) mandatory to every male student in the tertiary education and even in

Senior High School. He said that the bill aims to optimize the students for service

through appropriate physical and mental training. He also exposed that he was also

a product of ROTC in college. “We need to help them develop their national spirit,

and promote self-confidence and camaraderie. Our youth should also be physically

strong and alert without having to spend membership in a gym,” Gatchalian said.

The ROTC program, according to the Organization of Generals and Flag

Officers, prepares male students for national defense and trains them with

leadership skills and the basics of military service in order to produce capable

Armed Forces reservists.

According to Pinol (2017) The new president approves the return of the

Reserve Officer Training Corps. Defense Secretary Lorenzana also filed

documents on RA 7077 or "Citizen Armed Forces of the Philippines Reservist Act"

to be mandatory for ROTC. Prior to this approval by President Rodrigo Duterte there

are meetings in the cabinet. Deep analysis and conversation. Through the ROTC

program, Filipino youths are potential to defend and protect our country. On addition

to this Padilla (2017) states "if the youth will understand the reason of the training,

they will learn many skills such as basic life support, first aid training, basic self-

defense, combat preparation, survival skills and others. In total, we see that not
 Divine Word College of Calapan Senior High School
only does the nation benefit but we also learn many not only in defense but also in

disciplining ourselves amd instill our sense of nationalism and patriotism.