SENATE majority leader Francis Tolentino yesterday said President Marcos Jr. has urged the Senate to give priority to the passage of the Mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) Program to prepare the youth for service opportunities in the Armed Forces.

Tolentino said the President gave the Senate the “signal to go for it” during the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting in Malacanang last week.

“In the past LEDAC meetings, it [the Mandatory ROTC Bill] was classified to be in Tier 2 or Level 2. But now the Presidente gave the signal to go for it, that’s why it is now already under Level 1, this is one of our priorities now,” Tolentino told radio dzBB.

He said the House of Representatives has passed the bill on the third and final reading, while the Senate is still in the period of interpellation, with two more senators set to interpolate.

“That can be tackled once Congress resumes regular sessions [on November 4). We are just discussing possible amendments on the transitory period – either one or two years,” he said, adding it would be better if the President certified the measure as urgent.

Once the bill becomes a law, Tolentino said the Mandatory ROTC Program will be included in the college curriculum which will be a requisite for graduation.

He said first-year college students will undergo basic training, which includes disaster preparedness and management, civic and environmental training, while students will undergo advanced training programs the next year.

Tolentino said students who wish to go even further can avail of the optional executive ROTC program which will cover specialization on cybersecurity matters, courses on how to become a pilot for those under the Air Force branch, and naval warfare for those under the Navy, among others.

“There will be specialization programs for 3rd-year college students, but they are optional,” he said.

He said that graduates of the Mandatory ROTC program automatically become part of the country’s reserve force and will automatically be officers of the Armed Forces once they decide to enter the military service.

Tolentino said the Mandatory ROTC Program will increase the number of reserve officers in the country.

He also said that the civilian vessels entering the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea are loaded with Chinese militias.

“China’s militias are its reservists. The ones we see entering our EEZ are just their reservists. The Philippines has around 107,000 reservists, with some of them already aging. So, do we not want to increase their numbers? China has a very big reserve component but it does not mean that we will clash with them,” he added.

He said having more reservists would mean more officers and officials in the Armed Forces.

“Graduates of the 3rd year Mandatory ROTC Program can be directly commissioned in the military. We lack officers, and there are only around 300 cadets who graduate from the Philippine Military Academy each year. Our soldiers also retire. So, who will be in charge of protecting our territorial integrity, and security if we do not have enough soldiers? It is enshrined in the Constitution that every Filipino has the right to serve in any military branch,” he said.

Tolentino said he is confident that the Senate would pass the proposed measure even if several senators, including Senate President Francis Escudero, are against its passage.