(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, July 22, pushed for the passage of the National Defense Act.
In his State of the Nation Address, Duterte also called for the revival of mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corp.
“Alam mo ‘pag magkagiyera-giyera, 10 out of 10 hindi marunong humawak ng baril to defend even his father and mother and brothers and sisters… I think military training will be good for everybody,” he said.
As early as 2015, Duterte pushed for the revival of mandatory ROTC, saying the program molded the youth into nationalistic individuals.
ROTC was implemented at the college level but in 2002, the program was scrapped following the death of a University of Sto. Tomas student.