MANILA — According to a recent survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS), more Filipinos prefer an optional Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program instead of making it mandatory in senior high school (SHS).
Results of the March 26 to 29 survey released yesterday showed that only 35 percent of the respondents aged 18 and above want ROTC to be mandatory in SHS.
Some 42 percent said it should be optional and that students should be able to choose between ROTC or community service, while 22 percent said ROTC should not be in the curriculum of the students at all.
Although it was initially planned to be included in SHS, proponents later agreed to push for the return of mandatory ROTC in college.
Last month, the office of Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian released the results of a commissioned Pulse Asia survey, conducted from March 15 to 19, which showed 80 percent of respondents supporting mandatory ROTC in college.
Some, however, have questioned the framing of that survey’s question, which started with a positive description of ROTC before enumerating the concerns of those who oppose it.
It read, “The ROTC or Reserve Officers’ Training Corps is a program which aims to teach the youth about discipline and love of country through military training. They will also learn about leadership and patriotism. Some of those who oppose ROTC say that it only leads to bad experiences such as hazing, abuse, harassment and corruption in schools. How much do you agree or disagree with the proposal to implement ROTC to all students in college?”
In contrast, SWS simply provided the respondents with three statements and asked them to identify which is closest to their opinion of ROTC.
The statements used by SWS were: “ROTC should be compulsory course for Senior High School Students in Grade 11 and 12,” “ROTC should not be in the curriculum of students” and “ROTC should be optional where one can choose this as a course or choose community service.”
Based on the SWS survey, which is non-commissioned, support for compulsory ROTC in SHS was highest among respondents in the Visayas at 46 percent followed by those in Mindanao at 34 percent, balance Luzon at 32 percent and Metro Manila at 29 percent.
Those who said it should be optional were highest among respondents in balance Luzon at 47 percent, closely followed by Metro Manila at 46 percent, Mindanao at 42 percent and the Visayas at 28 percent.
Some 25 percent of respondents based in Metro Manila and the Visayas said ROTC should not be in the curriculum of the students, followed by 22 percent in Mindanao and 21 percent in balance Luzon.
The First Quarter 2023 SWS survey had 1,200 respondents and a sampling error margin of +/-2.8 percent.
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