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
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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.
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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.
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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)
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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
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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
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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.