Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday questioned the newly-released Pulse Asia poll which showed that the majority of Filipinos support the proposed mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC).
"Nakacapture ba ng survey ang sentiment ng kabataan mismo na ipapa-mandatory ROTC, o ito ay yung general population lamang?" she pointed out in a statement posted on her official Facebook.
The results of the latest poll conducted by Pulse Asia revealed that 78 percent of Filipinos support the implementation of the proposed program while only 13 percent are not in favor.
Among the reasons that many support the program is that it will "train students so they are prepared to defend the country" (60 percent) and that "the youth will learn leadership or develop leadership skills" (59 percent).
The Senator reiterated that she is not against military training per se but she is not in favor of making the program mandatory as this will limit "the choices of our students to express their love of country."
"Sa panahon ngayon, higit na kailangan ang mas malawak na programa para sa paglilingkod sa bayan hindi lamang usaping military, law enforcement at disaster response," she added.
Hontiveros said the national government should refocus its vision on responding to the learning losses caused by the pandemic.
She further said that they will continue to look into the proposed program to ensure that there are enough safeguards and protection for students against potential abuse.
