Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Sixteenth Congress
Third Regular Session

HOUSE BILLNo, 6267

Introduced by Honorable Isidro T. Ungab

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to mandate all male students in public and private
universities, colleges and similar learning institutions to complete the Reserve
Officers’ Training Corp (ROTC) component of the National Training Service
Program as requisite for graduation, amending for the purpose Republic Act No.
9163.

Section 4, Article II of the Philippine Constitution states that:

"The Government may call upon the people to defend the
State and, in the fulfillment thereof, all citizens may be required,
under conditions provided by law, to render personal, military or
civil service."

In the light of recent events in the West Philippine Sea, Filipino citizens
may, by constitutional mandate as stated above, be called to defend Philippine
sovereignty over its territory against incursions by foreign powers. Alongside
that are major natural calamities such as typhoons, floods and landslides which
befall our country every year, and the imminent threat of a catastrophic
earthquake recently described in scientific studies such as the Metro Manila
Earthquake Impact Reduction Study.

Preparedness to reduce the risks and enhance human capacities to respond
to these contemplated situations include training individuals and arming groups
and communities with applicable knowledge and systems.


Under Republic Act No. 7077 which was enacted in 1991, “the Citizen
Armed Force shall be so organized, trained, developed and maintained as to
ensure their readiness to immediately respond to the call to service.”
Alternately referred to as the Reserve Force, the main mission of the Citizen
Armed Forces is to provide the base for the expansion of the Armed Forces of
the Philippines in the event of war, invasion or rebellion, and to assist in relief
and rescue operations during disasters or calamities. Section 38 of the same law
provides for the mandatory military training for students enrolled in colleges,
universities and similar learning institutions.

However, the mandatory nature of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps
(ROTC) program was abolished through the passage of Republic Act No. 9163,
otherwise known as the “National Service Training Program (NSTP) Act of
2001.” Rendering the ROTC component of the NSTP as voluntary made it
extremely difficult to implement the constitutional mandate that all citizens may
be required, under conditions provided by law, to render personal, military or
civil service. As a consequence of RA 9163, there was a considerable drop in
ROTC enrollment. It is now a major concern that our country will no longer
have sufficient reserve officers to render military service in the Citizen Armed
Forces when warranted by national circumstances, whether as a response to a
national security threat or catastrophic emergency.

The country is facing challenging times and it is crucial that we
strengthen our youth’s vital role in nation-building. To achieve this, the
government must reinstate the mandatory completion of the ROTC.

In view of the foregoing, approval of this measure is eamestly requested.

ISIDRO T. UNGAB


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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Sixteenth Congress
Third Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No.__6267

Introduced by Honorable Isidro T. Ungab

AN ACT

MANDATING ALL MALE STUDENTS IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
UNIVERSITIES, COLLEGES AND SIMILAR LEARNING
INSTITUTIONS TO COMPLETE THE RESERVE OFFICERS’
TRAINING CORPS COMPONENT OF THE NATIONAL TRAINING
SERVICE PROGRAM AS REQUISITE FOR GRADUATION,
AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9163,
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE “NATIONAL SERVICE TRAINING
PROGRAM ACT OF 2001”

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress Assembled:

SECTION 1. Section 4 of Republic Act No. 9163 is hereby amended to
read as follows:
“SEC. 4. Establishment of the National Service Training
Program. — There is hereby established a National Service
Training Program (NSTP) which shall form part of the curricula of
all baccalaureate degree courses and of at least two (2)-year
technical vocational courses and is a requisite for graduation,

consisting of the following service components:


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a)

The Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) [,

which is hereby made optional and voluntary upon the effectivity

of this Act];
b)

°)

The Literacy Training Service; and

The Civic Welfare Training Service.

The ROTC under the NSTP shall instill patriotism, moral

virtues, respect for the rights of civilians and adherence to the

Constitution, among others. Citizenship training shall be given

emphasis in all three (3) program components.

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and

Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA),

in consultation with the Department of National Defense (DND).

Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges

(PASUC),

Coordinating Council of Private Educational

Associations of the Philippines (COCOPEA) and other concerned

government agencies, may design and implement such other

program components as may be necessary in consonance with the

provisions of this Act.”

SEC. 2. Section 5 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 5. Coverage. — (Students, male and female] MALE

STUDENTS of any baccalaureate degree course or at least two (2)-

year technical vocational courses in public and private educational

institutions

shall

be

required

to complete THE ROTC


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COMPONENT, WHILE FEMALE STUDENTS SHALL BE
REQUIRED TO COMPLETE one (1) of the NSTP components, as

requisite for graduation.”

SEC. 3. Section 7 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 7. NSTP Offering in Higher and Technical-
Vocational Educational Institutions. — All higher and technical-
vocational institutions, public and private, must offer THE ROTC
AND at least one of the OTHER TWO program components[:
Provided, That State universities and colleges shall offer the
ROTC component and at least one other component as provided
herein: Provided, further, That private higher and technical-
vocational education institutions may also offer the ROTC if they
have at least three hundred and fifty (350) cadet students].

In offering the NSTP whether during the semestral or
summer periods, clustering of affected students from different
educational institutions may be done, taking into account logistics,
branch of service and geographical considerations. Schools that do
not meet the required number of students to maintain the [optional]
ROTC and any of the NSTP components shall allow their students
to cross-enroll to other schools irrespective of whether or not the
NSTP components in said schools are being administered by the

same or another branch of service in the Armed Forces of the


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Philippines (AFP), CHED and TESDA to which schools are

identified.”

SEC. 4. Section 10 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as

follows:

“SEC. 10. Management of the NSTP Component. — The
school authorities shall exercise academic and administrative
supervision over the design, formulation, adoption and
implementation of the different NSTP components in their
respective schools. IN THE CASE OF ROTC, THE SCHOOL
AUTHORITIES AND THE DND SHALL EXERCISE JOINT
SUPERVISION OVER ITS IMPLEMENTATION, SUBJECT TO
THE POLICIES, REGULATIONS AND PROGRAMS OF THE
DND ON THE MILITARY COMPONENT OF THE TRAINING.
THE DND SHALL FORMULATE AND ADMINISTER THE
TRAINING MODULES FOR THE ROTC: Provided, That in case
a CHED- or TESDA-accredited non-government organization
(NGO) has been contracted to formulate and administer a training
module for any of the NSTP components, such academic and
administrative supervision shall be exercised jointly with that
accredited NGO: Provided, further, That such training module
shall be accredited by the CHED and TESDA.

The CHED and TESDA regional offices shall oversee and

monitor the implementation of the NSTP under their jurisdiction to


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determine if the trainings are being conducted in consonance with
the objectives of this Act. Periodic reports shall be submitted to

the CHED, TESDA and DND in this regard.”

SEC. 5. Section 13 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as

follows:

“SEC. 13. Transitory Provisions. — {Students who have yet
to complete the Basic ROTC, except those falling under Section 14
of this Act] MALE STUDENTS WHO ARE ALREADY
ENROLLED IN A PROGRAM COMPONENT OTHER THAN
ROTC may either continue in the program component they are
currently enrolled or shift to [any of the other program components
of their choice] THE ROTC BASIC COURSE: Provided, That in
case [he] THEY shift[s] to [another] THE ROTC program
component, the [Basic ROTC] OTHER PROGRAM
COMPONENT courses {he has] THEY HAVE completed shall be
counted for the purpose of completing the NSTP requirement:
Provided, further, That once {he has] THEY HAVE shifted to
[another] THE ROTC program component, [he] THEY shall
complete the NSTP in that component.”

SEC. 6. Section 14 of the same Act is hereby repealed.

SEC. 7. All laws, decrees, executive orders, agreements, rules and
regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are

hereby repealed or modified accordingly.


SEC. 8. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its

the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,