The National Service Training Program (NSTP) is a civic education and defense preparedness program students instituted by the Government of the Philippines on 23 July 2001 by virtue of Republic Act 9163, otherwise known as the "National Service Training Program (NSTP) Act of 2001."
Under the NSTP Program, both male and female college students of any baccalaureate degree course or technical vocational course in public or private educational institutions are obliged to undergo one of three program components for an academic period of two semesters. The students, however, are free to choose which particular program component to take. The three NSTP Program components are: [1]
Graduates of the ROTC program component are organized into the Citizen Armed Force, while graduates of the LTS and CWTS program components are organized into the National Service Reserve Corps (NSRC) administered by the Department of National Defense, the Commission on Higher Education and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
There have been several legal precedents to the National Service Training Program (NSTP) Act of 2001. These include:
Commonwealth Act No. 1, otherwise known as the "National Defense Act", was enacted by the National Assembly of the Philippines on 21 December 1935. It provided for obligatory military service for all male citizens of ages between 18 and 30. [2]
Presidential Decree No. 1706, otherwise known as the "National Service Law", was signed into law on 8 August 1980. It made national service obligatory for all Filipino citizens and specified three categories of national service: civic welfare service, law enforcement service and military service. [3]
Republic Act 7077, otherwise known as the "Citizen Armed Forces of the Philippines Reservist Act", was enacted by the 8th Congress of the Philippines on 27 June 1991. The Reservist Act provided for organization, training and utilization of reservists, referred to in the Act as "Citizen Soldiers". The primary pool of manpower for the reservist organization are graduates of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps basic and advance courses. [4]
According to the Commission on Higher Education, over a ten-year period from 2002-2012 the CWTS component has produced 10,614,000 graduates, the highest among the three NSTP components. This is followed by the ROTC component, with 1,435,000 AFP reservists and the LTS component with 538,700 graduates. [5]
NSTP Component | No. of Graduates |
---|---|
CWTS | 10,614,000 |
LTS | 538,700 |
ROTC | 1,435,000 |
The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) is a group of college- and university-based officer training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces.
An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country. How OCS is run differs between countries and services. Typically, officer candidates have already attained post-secondary education, and sometimes a Bachelor's degree, and undergo a short duration of training which focuses primarily on military skills and leadership. This is in contrast with a military academy which includes academic instruction leading to a bachelor's degree.
Holy Angel University is a private Catholic research university in Angeles City, Philippines. Founded in June 1933 by Don Juan Nepomuceno and Fr. Pedro Paulo Santos, who was later named as the Archbishop of Cáceres, is considered the first lay-founded Catholic school as well as the first co-educational Catholic high school. With a student population of over 21,000, it is the largest private institute of education with the largest student population in a single campus in Central Luzon.
The Reserve Command is a major support command of the Philippine Army. It was created for the sole purpose of reserve force management, organization and Government Arsenal procurement.
The Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit, variously called Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit, Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit and commonly referred to by its acronym CAFGU is an irregular auxiliary force of the Armed Forces of the Philippines with total strength of 61,200 personnel as of 2020.
The Penn State Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps is the ROTC department at The Pennsylvania State University. It is the largest branch of the ROTC program at the school, which also has Naval ROTC and Air Force ROTC. The Penn State ROTC Battalion is one of the 41 participating battalions in the 2nd Reserve Officers' Training Corps Brigade, also known as the Freedom Brigade. The brigade is headquartered at Fort Dix, NJ, and comprises ROTC programs in the North Eastern United States including CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, and VT.
The Asian Institute of Maritime Studies (AIMS) is a merchant marine college in Pasay, Philippines that provides highly technical learning in terms of maritime education. It is one of the top performing maritime schools in the Philippines. It was founded in 1993 by Captain Wilijado P. Abuid along with his friends.
The Naval Reserve Command (NRC), also known as NAVRESCOM or RESCOM, is one of the Philippine Navy's Major Support Commands created for the sole purpose of reserve force management, procurement, and organization.
Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) in the Philippines is one of three components of the National Service Training Program, the civic education and defense preparedness program for Filipino college students. ROTC aims to provide military education and training for students to mobilize them for national defense preparedness. Its specific objectives include preparation of college students for service in the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the event of an emergency and their training to become reservists and potential commissioned officers of the AFP.
Reserve Officers' Training Corps in the Republic of China (Taiwan) was first proposed by the Ministry of National Defense for the ROC Armed Forces in September 1995 and has been in operation since 1997 or 1999. Other sources mention that an ROTC program was already active in Taiwan in the 1960s. ROTC in Taiwan is based on the counterpart program of the United States Armed Forces. The proposed training regimen consisted of three to four additional hours of military courses each week aside from university classes. During the winter vacation, students were to attend a one or two-week boot camp and in the summer, they would undergo six weeks of military training.
Reserve Officers' Training Corps in South Korea is a college-based officer training program which was established in 1961. South Korea's Conscription Law applies to males, aged between 18 and 35, although women are allowed to enroll in the ROTC as of 2010.
Conscription in the Philippines has been implemented at several points in the country's history. As of 2016, no mandatory conscription is in effect in the Philippines and military service is entirely voluntary.
The 1st Regional Community Defense Group, Army Reserve Command is a line unit of the Army Reserve Command of the Philippine Army. It was created for the sole purpose of Reserve Force management, procurement, and organisation in the areas encompassing Northern and Central Luzon.
The 7th Regional Community Defense Group, Army Reserve Command; is a line unit of the Army Reserve Command. It was created for the sole purpose of Reserve Force management, procurement, and organisation in the areas encompassing Central Visayas.
The Southeast Asian University of Technology (SEAUTech), formerly known as the Bicol State College of Applied Sciences and Technology(BISCAST), is a public state college, nonsectarian in the Philippines. It is located along Peñafrancia Avenue in Naga City. The current president is Alex H. Navarroza.
The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools across the United States and at US military bases across the world. The program was originally created as part of the National Defense Act of 1916 and later expanded under the 1964 ROTC Vitalization Act.
The University of Santo Tomas Golden Corps of Cadets (UST-GCC) also referred to as the UST ROTC Unit is a Reserve Officers' Training Corps unit implementing one of the optional components of the Philippines' National Service Training Program (NSTP) in the University of Santo Tomas. The NSTP is a civic education and preparedness program for college students, the ROTC component of which aims to provide military education and training to mobilize them for national defense preparedness.
The National Service Reserve Corps, also referred to by the acronym NSRC, is a unit composed of graduates of the Civic Welfare Training Service (CWTS) and Literacy Training Service (LTS) components of the National Service Training Program, a civic education and defense preparedness program in the Philippines. Members of this corps may be tapped by the state for literacy and civic welfare activities. In 2010 the NSRC was mandated to be accredited and mobilized for the delivery of disaster risk reduction programs and activities.
The Civic Welfare Training Service (CWTS) is one of three components of the National Service Training Program, a civic education and defense preparedness program for higher and vocational education students in the Philippines. CWTS activities "are contributory to the general welfare and the betterment of life for the members of the community or the enhancement of its facilities, especially those devoted to improving health, education, environment, entrepreneurship, safety, recreation and morals of the citizenry".
The Literacy Training Service (LTS) is one of three components of the National Service Training Program, a civic education and defense preparedness program for higher and vocational education students in the Philippines. The LTS is "a program designed to train students to become teachers of literacy and numeracy skills to school children, out of school youth, and other segments of society".