Who would have thought that Mark Chua’s murderers are from the fence he once wanted to belong in.
Call it “artificial intelligence,” but the suspects in the murder of Mark Chua know how to play the game. They know how to disguise themselves and meld with the innocent crowd.
Nine months after his body was fished out in the Pasig River, no traces of Mark’s killers can be found. This may be because they early on washed their hands in the same dirty and polluted waters of Pasig — the basin of graft and corruption, crime, illegal drugs, and other urban evils.
Who could have thought that Mark was killed by the company he kept?
* * *
With the recent terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, the issue on the significance of the reservists is revived. It has been reported that US President George W. Bush has called on reservists to help in the security of the beleaguered country.
I am for the abolition of the law that created the ROTC. But it doesn’t follow that I will abandon my country in cases of war or foreign aggression and that I am undisciplined or less patriotic when I choose not to take ROTC.
The reservists’ situation in the Philippines is different from that of the US. First, the US government subsidizes the training of its reservists; here, students are obliged to take up ROTC and are the ones made to pay fees to support the reservist pool. Filipino ROTC cadets are also poorly trained. Who would want to pay for poor training under miseducated commandants? In the case of Mark, who would want to pay for his own murder?
I respect the military and the police. They play significant roles in national stability and security. But they must accept the fact they labor under a credibility question.
“Obey first before you complain.” The one giving the command must prove first that he deserves the respect and obedience.
Of course, supporters of ROTC invoke its supposed glory days. But this does not suffice to justify the program. As Peter Druker says, “Growth that adds volume without improving productivity is fat. Growth that diminishes productivity is cancer.”
* * *
Last May 25, UST, together with seven other University Belt schools, released the statement titled “The ROTC: Excising a Cancer,” which called for the abolition of the ROTC.
So powerful was the statement that it rocked the military and defense establishment. Unfortunately, the statement sent the wrong signal to the youth. The statement made it appear that the University Belt Consortium was after the total abolition of the ROTC where in fact, it is only after the nullification of the law making it compulsory for college males.
What the consortium and I guess the University failed to do was to follow up the statement. Thomasians and other students were left to digest the war-cry on their own, not knowing its true meaning and purpose.
* * *
The abolition of the law that created the ROTC will pave the way for a remodeling of sorts, a major reconstruction, and updating.
Reform will not make way for renewal and redemption. It’s like reheating a cold and spoiled soup, removing only the putrid ingredients and replacing them with new ones, while retaining the old broth.
If I would be asked to cook or concoct my own recipe of ROTC, I would make it this way:
Ingredients
1.) Qualified and credible instructors or trainers
2.) Well constructed module and curriculum aligned to a specific course or field (i.e. medicine, religious or ecclesiastical, engineering, economics, commerce, and sociology)
3.) Conducive and safe facilities
Procedures:
1.) The government should find effective ways to subsidize ROTC.
2.) If not, the school must no longer act only as fee collector and the fiscal autonomy of ROTC from the school should be annulled.
3.) If ever, the formation of an alternative ROTC should be in consultation with the youth, academe, etc.
4.) The host school must also have direct hand and/or authority in its implementation.
5.) ROTC training should no longer be on Sundays. Instead it should be on a continuous training schedule to facilitate sustainable instruction.
6.) It should no longer be a requirement for graduation but instead for a civil service qualification.
7.) Women should also have their own ROTC training because as stated in the Constitution, “all able bodied citizens” must render national service.
My recipe may not be complete or perfect, but I’m sure it will work for us.
