DepEd may include disaster response to ROTC program

The Department of Education is considering incorporating disaster response lessons into the mandatory Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program for Grades 11 and 12 students in both public and private schools, an official said Friday.

Training students for disaster response will teach them the values of discipline and nationalism, Education Undersecretary Jess Lorenzo Mateo said in an interview on DZMM.

The new ROTC program will not focus on preparing students for war and violence, but will teach the youth about the value of patriotism, Mateo said.

Education officials are set to finalize the details of the ROTC before the next school year begins, he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte has given the go signal to bring back the ROTC program after an Army official earlier said the country's reserve force drastically went down when the National Service Training Program (NSTP) Law was passed in 2001.

The ROTC was made optional in 2002 following the controversy that resulted in the death of Mark Chua, a University of Sto. Tomas student, who was allegedly slain by course officers after exposing fund mismanagement