BANGUED, Abra — National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) Region 1 director Mildred Abordo stressed that the resumption of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) will make the youth more involved in the affairs of the community and further improve their volunteerism spirit.
“If you expose the young people to community activities where they will see or feel their fellowmen, they will see the importance of making themselves useful not just for themselves, but the others,” Abordo said.
She said making ROTC a requirement in school does not necessarily mean teaching them to hold a weapon and fire a gun.
“There are many ways on how the ROTC program can be implemented and one is to expose and teach them how to respond and help during calamities,” said Abordo as she belied claims of some sectors that the ROTC will teach students to become youth soldiers.
She added that creating youth volunteers who care for those in need is the primary purpose of ROTC and stressed that calamity strikes anytime, anywhere, and having young people with a heart to help will do a lot in mitigating the sufferings of the victims.