No fierce opposition impeded a landslide House vote for the reinstitution of a "military prep" to teach leadership skills and civic values in institutions of higher learning.

The National Citizens Service Training Program (NCSTP) Act, envisioned to shore up citizens' reserve force, has been approved by this chamber Thursday after a swift yet careful deliberation, with 276 affirmatives against only four and an abstention.

The proposal, which critics call mandatory Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program by any other name, consolidates all 28 measures at the House seeking to revive citizen cadet training for college students.

NCSTP would replace the National Service Training Program. ROTC is still optional.

"The House of Representatives has been working really hard to pass many important pieces of legislation that we all believe will contribute immensely to nation-building. The NCSTP bill is one of them," Speaker Martin Romualdez said.

The program would also apply to those enrolled in Tesda.

The proposed legislation is a nod to the sense of urgency the President has around the citizens' constitutional duty to render personal military or civil service to the country "in times of calamities and disasters, national or local emergencies, rebellion, invasion or war".

Representing a popular critical slant, Gabriela Party's Arlene Brosas argued that "further campus militarization…will not truly instill patriotism in youth and students…" but will put them and the whole school system "at risk of imminent danger":

"If the government is serious about instilling and uplifting the youth's sense of nationalism and duty to serve the community and country, we must promote teaching History and Filipino subjects to all ages."