DEFENSE Secretary Carlito Galvez last Monday night said the revival of the mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program will boost the character and resilience of students, qualities which positively foster mental health.
Galvez issued the statement after being quoted earlier that day, during a Senate hearing, that ROTC can cure mental health problems, a pronouncement that drew flak from several quarters, including the Psychological Association of the Philippines.
“What we intended to convey during the hearing was that through our enhanced Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program, we would be able to build the strength of character and resilience of our trainees, qualities which positively foster mental health,” Galvez said.
Ver Reyes of the Psychological Association of the Philippines, reacting to Galvez’s earlier statement, said the solution to mental health problems is “not all encompassing.”
P3PWP party-list Rep. Rowena Guanzon said mental health problems cannot be cured by more stress and physical strain, adding the ROTC program “can make things worse for the person with a disability.” She said ROTC should be made optional and not mandatory.
The Department of Health said that while ROTC can help some students, not all will gain mental health benefits from the program being revived.
“It is not going to be the same for every person. Each person has a different capacity to respond and become resilient on their own,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said yesterday in a press briefing.
“Each and every person has their own needs to become mentally healthy. It’s not the same for each person,” she added.
“We fully understand and appreciate their concerns, as mental health is an issue that affects the broadest spectrum of society. We would therefore like to address certain misconceptions which have surfaced and clarify our agency’s position regarding this matter,” said Galvez.
Galvez said the ROTC, as a policy program of the government, “aims to develop among the trainees the basic psychosocial support competencies that are crucial in responding to stressful situations and contexts.”
He said the ROTC program the DND is envisioning includes courses that are designed to “foster resilience, self-leadership, character-building, and discipline.
“We believe these are virtues that our trainees must cultivate not only for their personal growth and development as individuals, but more importantly, enable them to play a key role in building a just, humane and democratic society,” said Galvez.
He assured the Filipino people that the DND leadership will “carefully take into account” the spirit of the Mental Health Act of 2018 and the issues raised by mental health experts in crafting the ROTC training program.
The ROTC was made optional by virtue of a law adopted in December 2001 following the killing of University of Sto. Tomas student Mark Chua, who was abducted and killed for exposing anomalies in the ROTC program.
President Marcos, during his State of the Nation Address in July last year, said the mandatory ROTC program for Grade 11 and 12 students is part of his legislative agenda.
The military said a mandatory ROTC program is needed to motivate, train, organize and mobilize students to develop a sense of patriotism among the youth.
Health reform advocate Dr. Tony Leachon warned that bringing back the ROTC program may actually cause more harm than good to the students’ mental health.
In a series of social media posts, Leachon said the ROTC will only increase the stress being suffered by students.
“On the contrary, it would potentially trigger and aggravate mental health problems of the younger generation of Filipinos,” he said.
“It can cause anxiety, depression, behavior disorders, and might increase suicide rates due to increasing educational workload plus the other effects of the pandemic,” added Leachon. — With Gerard Naval
