Youth groups once again condemned Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s rush to enact the Mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) bill, which was revealed last week. They argue Marcos is using the Philippines-China conflict to justify pushing the ROTC while inciting war at the behest of his imperialist US master.

“He (Marcos) has made the Philippines a target by keeping US Typhon missile systems in Luzon that can strike mainland China, and by allowing the construction of 4 new US military bases. If there will be war, it will come at the invitation of Marcos Jr,” League of Filipino Students (LFS) national chairman Lloyd Manango said.

It is easier for Marcos to send students to war than to pursue an independent foreign policy, he said. “We do not dream of war against China, not when peace is still an option. We want to defend our country, but we will not be foot soldiers sent to die for an imperialist agenda,” he said.

LFS-Panay emphasized that “the youth is not a shield in war.” Panayanon youth called ROTC an “outmoded tactic” to militarize schools and justify conscripting youth into the armed forces.