Military training is a part of the Philippines' educational system by Isko Pineda, 9 May 2005 High School: CAT (Citizens

Army Training) There is no compulsory military service, or draft, in the Philippines. In a coun try where 80% of the population lives in poverty and where even university gradu ates can hardly find a decent job, there is no shortage of people lining up for work in the military. As they say, you have a chance of coming out alive in a ba ttlefield but not with hunger. There is also a general perception among the peop le that joining the military is the quickest way to get rich. Corruption is a wa y of life in the Philippine military but that might be the rule with other milit ary system everywhere. If there is no compulsory military service, there is however compulsory military education. Introduction to the military comes early in the life of most Filipin os formal education. It starts once you enter fourth year high school. If you co unt boy and girl scouting, then it starts early in grade school. Boy and girl sc outing is an extra-curricular activity in schools until third year high school f rom eight to fiftheen years old. CAT (Citizen Army Training) is a course that is part of the fourth year high sch ool curriculum. As with any course, the students receive marks for their perform ance. Like the academic requirements, they can either fail or pass. It is compul sory for all fourth year students, girls as well as boys. Those with visible phy sical disabilities and those recommended by medical doctors as unfit for the tra ining for health reasons are exempted from the physical training, but not from t he course. They are assigned administrative and household tasks to perform, i.e. checking of attendance, cleaning, etc. You cannot seek exemption from military training at school on the grounds that y ou are gay nor for religious reasons. Matter of fact, those who are openly gay a ttending the training are made the objects of jokes and pranks and treated like fools. The rich can always use their money and influence to get their kids out o f military training. The rich, however, would more often enrol their kids in exc lusive Catholic schools where the kids do not have a choice but to undertake the training. For four hours each week for the whole school year, the students, aged 15-16, un dergo rigorous training. Students in military uniforms doing military drills and exercises are a normal sight on campuses. The students are also given lectures on the operations of the Philippine military system. The whole set-up is organiz ed and functions like a military unit . You have the battalion which is composed of several companies and the companies composed of several platoons. Each unit has a student officer. Decisions are made through a chain of command under the s upervision of the commandant. In big schools, the commandants are usually milita ry personnel but in small schools the task is usually assigned to a male teacher . Because of the power and prestige that goes with being an officer, there is n o lack of fourth year students who are willing to give up their school break to train for four hours each day from Monday to Friday for two months to prepare th em for the job. The training is no different to training given to actual soldiers. In large scho ols, they are even taught to handle real guns. It is wooden guns for smaller sch ools. The trainees are ranked by their performance. The student who performs the best based on the judgment of the trainers, often military personnel, are assig ned the highest post (Corp Commander). Girls who go through the training do not of course make it to the top no matter how good they are. Army training is much more rigorous in government schools than in private school

s. This is because government schools have to compete with each other in what th ey call the tactical inspection. For private schools the tactical inspection is optional. The tactical inspection judge the schools according to how well their students k now the Philippines military organization. This is determined by the students per formance in the: a. individual interviews conducted by representatives of the Armed Force s of the Philippines (AFP); b. written examinations prepared by the AFP itself; c. participation of the school in community activities; and military dri lls and exercise. Schools consider it a big prestige to make it to the top of the tactical inspect ion competition. This is akin to being adjudged a school of academic excellence. In spite of its claim to help instil among the students positive values of citiz enship, like self-discipline, leadership, positive competition, community servic e, etc., a closer look at the CAT reveals its true agenda. It is actually a mili tary recruitment machine designed to lure the best students to decide for a mili tary career. Fourth year high school is the most crucial time in every Filipino student s education. This is the time when they have to decide which career path t o pursue. Give the students a taste of the military, its power and its prestige, then bombard them with propaganda about a military in the service of democracy, and you have a recruit. College/University: CMT (Citizen Military Training) The CMT is the college counterpart of the CAT and is organized in exactly the sa me way or even more sophisticated. It used to be called the ROTC (Reserved Offic ers Training Corp) patterned after the US ROTC. Like the CAT, the CMT is a requi red course for every college curriculum but limited this time only to male stude nts. The course is given one day each weekend for the first two years in the uni versity. Students wearing the required combat shoes, fatigue uniform complete wi th badges and insignia, cap, and carrying wooden rifles, undergo a whole day of rigorous training from seven o clock in the morning until five o clock in the aftern oon under the intense heat of the sun. As in high school, training is mainly on military drill and exercises. No student can graduate unless he completes the required four units of military training. Many students who have completed the academic requirements of their ch osen subject fail to get their degree/diploma because they have not finished the required military training units. Many students consider becoming an officer in order to enjoy discounts in their tuition fees. First year students aspiring to become officers have to undergo t wo months preparatory training during the school break, so that as they enter th eir second year, they are already officers. Those who do not want to become offi cers don t need to undergo the preparatory training but they still have to complet e the required four units. From my own experience, CMT is the most unpopular activity at the university. In all my university days, I never came across anyone who spoke well of it. Many t ried to find ways to totally avoid it. Many faked illness by submitting fake med ical certificates, but because that does not totally excuse someone from the tra ining course, others resorted to bribing student officers to get out. The office rs just keep on checking their attendance without them physically being there. S

ince most of the officers are themselves paying for their subsistence during the ir time at the university, they are almost willing accomplices. Those who cannot afford to pay the bribe or who do not have the connections to secure medical ce rtificates have no choice but to go through the entire training course. Supervision of the CMT is directly under the military. Depending on the agreemen t with the university, CMT may be supervised by either the Air Force, the Marine s, or the Navy. Similar to the CAT, colleges and universities compete at the end of the school y ear in the tactical competition. The competition, however, is much more sophisti cated at this level, as it often includes mock combat drills. Again, the univers ity which comes top in the set criteria wins the competition. CMT is an attempt of the military to bring in those who are against the military . Judging from the way it is received by the students, however, it is not working. Except for those taking up criminology courses leading them to a police career, most other people try to get away from it as much as possible. There is a citizens movement that wants the military completely out of the school s and their numbers are growing. Consider it a step towards a society where the military is irrelevant.