The Defense and Education departments had formed a group to examine what subjects may be included under the new Reserve Officers' Training Corps program in the event it is reimposed under the K-12 program.
Defense officer-in-charge Jose Faustino Jr. revealed the group's formation in response to Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel's question about what new subjects would be taught under the ROTC program, if history, health and fitness, among others, are already taught in school.
"What can be taught through the ROTC program that our other teachers cannot lecture (on)? Health and fitness through the ROTC program?" Manuel asked during the House Committee on Appropriations' budget deliberations on the DND's proposed budget for 2023.
"We have PE teachers and health teachers to teach that. So what's new?" he pressed the defense officials.
In response, Defense Undersecretary Ignacio Madriaga explained that the proposed curriculum of the mandatory ROTC for grades 11 and 12 would be centered on "citizen development" and patriotism.
Madriaga said the curriculum would also highlight how past generations of Filipinos fought for the country against foreign invaders.
"This is not the typical march or what we call military-centric.(program) The purpose of this program instruction for grades 11 and 12 is to develop human citizenship, one of which is disaster resilience," Madriaga said.
Manuel earlier stressed that one of the reasons for the reimposition of the ROTC is to teach disaster risk and reduction management. However, he said that Congress had already filed bills that would train people in DRRM without requiring an ROTC.
