Page 26 - LM Confidential Issue April 2015

Life & Other Hacks
Should ROTC be made mandatory again?
MANILA -- Should the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) be reinstated as a mandatory course in colleges and universities?
Speaking to dzMM, Col. Antonio Lastimado, Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Reservist and Retiree Affairs of the Philippine Army, said the country’s reserve force drastically went down when the National Service Training Program (NSTP) Law was passed in 2001.
“Napakalaki po ng kakulangan [sa reserve force]...bulk po ng pinanggagalingan ng ating reserve force ay ROTC talaga. Kapag bumaba po ang enrollment sa ROTC, wala na po tayong pagkukunan ng reserve,” he added.
Ideally, the country’s reserve force should be 80% more than its active force.
At present, Philippine Army has 20,000 reserve officers, while it has 126,000 active officers.
“Ang ating reserve force po, they will serve as base for expansion ng ating armed forces, kapag nagkaroon tayo ng emergency or giyera, sila ay tatawagin, imo-mobilize po. Then ‘yun na po ang magiging trabaho nila,” Lastimado explained.
The passage of the NSTP Law was in response to the death of Mark Chua, a University of Santo Tomas student who was killed after exposing the anomalies in the university’s ROTC program.
Volunteerism, love of country
Atty. Philip Sigfrid Fortun, who was an ROTC officer when he was in college, shared that being part of the reserve officers corps helped him a lot in being a lawyer.
“One of the things ROTC develops in the student, aside from adventure, is volunteerism. ‘Pag andun ka na sa ROTC, it becomes love of country eh, because you are taught precisely how to sacrifice your life, to a point na it develops love of country, it develops a burning desire to serve the people,” he added.
He added that it is time to reinstate ROTC, especially since the country is critically affected by climate change.
“Lalo na ngayon na we are the most critically affected ng climate change kasi archipelagic tayo. Tumataas ang dagat, nag-iiba ang simoy ng hangin...kailangan talaga ng ready reserve force, ito ‘yung focus precisely ng ROTC: able bodied people who are volunteers, who are willing to suffer and to do things for the country without compensation,” Fortun said.
There has also been a call to boost the Philippines’ reserve forces in the face of a growing China, which has become more assertive in its claims in the West Philippine Sea.
Valenzuela Representative Sherwin Gatchalian, who authored House Bill 2388 which calls for ROTC’s revival, shared Fortun’s view on the ROTC.
APRIL 2015
Loving Burnt Toast is Love
His Mom Served Burnt toast , but he was shocked when his Dad said this.
“When I was about eight or nine, my mom burnt some toast .
One night that stood out in my mind is when she had made dinner for us after a very long and rough day at work, She placed a plate of jam and extremely burned toast in front of my dad. Not slightly burnt but completely blackened toast.
I was just waiting to see if anyone noticed the burnt toast and say anything. But Dad just ate his toast and asked me if I did my homework and how my day was. I don’t remember what I told him that night, but I do remember hearing my mom apologizing to dad for burning the toast. And I’ll never forget what he said:
“Sweetie, I love burned toast.”
Later that night, I went to tell my dad good night and ask him if he really liked his toast burned. He put his arm on my shoulder and said,
“Your momma put in a very long day at work today and she was very tired. And besides, A burnt toast never hurts anyone but you know what does? Harsh words!”
The he continued to say “You
know, life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people I’m not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like every
other human. What I’ve learned over the years, is that learning to accept each others faults and choosing to celebrate each other’s differences,
is one of the most important keys for creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship. Life is too short
to wake up with regrets. Love the people who treat you right and have compassion for the ones who don’t.”
Enjoy Life Now.
Candid SPOOF
It’s nice of them to give me this much but I cannot finish this halo halo.
Action Honda’s Rafael Paeng Nebres tries to figure out how much the halo halo weighs at the despedida dinner for Congen Junever Mahilum-West.
Alex Gonzaga feels embarrassed about being pitted against Vice Ganda
For Alex Gonzaga, the rumors pitting her against phenomenal star Vice Ganda is utterly ridiculous. This issue stems from the fact that Vice’s Vice Gandang Ganda Sa Sarili: Eh Di Wow! Concert is happening almost a month after Alex’s own Unexpected Concert also at the Big Dome.
Although Vice has already denied
any rivalry between one of his best friends, Alex, during her contract
signing for smartphone brand Blackview, nevertheless addressed the issue a day after hearing about it.
“Oo kasi may mga nag-ta-tag sa akin. Nahihiya ako for Vice kasi bakit naman? Parang bago pa itapat ang dami ko pang kakainin na bigas. Kasi si Vice Ganda
is Unkabogable Phenomenal Star,” she
began.
Alex continued, “Tsaka from day one
talaga never nagpakita si Vice ng poot or [nagparamdam na] hindi ako pwedeng mag-promote sa kanya. He’s always been so nice, accommodating and even sa Daddy ko. Sobrang pinaparamdam
sa amin ni Vice na parang kapatid niya talaga kaming magkapatid. So nakakahiya na ganon.”
Nevertheless, the Inday Bote actress claimed that she reached out to Vice after her It’s Showtime stint earlier.
“Kaya nga kanina nag-Showtime ako, naglagay ako ng letter kasi tinawag niya ako eh kasi late siyang dumating. Hindi ko siya nakausap pero naglagay ako ng letter,” she said.
Charo tells students:
Good values matter
ABS-CBN president and CEO Charo Santos- Concio reminded over 1,000 communication students on the importance of having good values in her keynote address at the Pinoy Media Congress (PMC) Year 9, held recently at St. Paul University Manila.
“Your talent may win you your dream. But only your good values that will make you feel proud of yourself,” she said.
Santos-Concio is one of the speakers who shared wisdom and inspiration in the event organized
by ABS-CBN and the Philippine Association of Communication Educators Foundation (PACEF) to help prepare communication students for their future roles in the media.
Resource speakers were ABS-CBN executives Fernando Villar, Maria Concepcion Alcedo, March Ventosa, Marah Faner-Capuyan, Roxy Liquigan, Ging Reyes, Donald Lim, Leo Katigbak, Enrico Santos, Vivian Tin, and Laurenti Dyogi.
Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication president Prof. Ramon Tuazon, ABS-CBN News correspondent Atom Araullo, and Movie and Television Review & Classification Board chairman
Atty. Eugenio Villareal. Among the congress’ panelists were ABS-CBN Publishing Inc. president Ernie Lopez, ABS-CBN Film Productions Inc. (AFPI) creative director Vanessa Valdez, AFPI consultant Angie Yu-Pineda, and ABS-CBN business units heads Linggit Tan-Marasigan, Deo Endrinal, Julie Ann Benitez, Ginny Ocampo, Lui Andrada, Joyce Liquicia, and Reily Santiago.
After learning about the current and future trends and practices in the industry, the students also had a dialogue with the ABS-CBN bosses led by head of Free TV Cory Vidanes. Apart from answering the delegates’ questions, they also gave them advice on how to make it in the industry.
The delegates, some of them coming from as far as Baguio, Tacloban, and Cagayan de Oro, took to social media to express their satisfaction with the event, which also featured surprise performances from Kapamilya stars.
With another successful staging of the PMC, ABS- CBN Integrated Corporate Communications Division officer in charge Kane Errol Choa said the best is yet to come for Pinoy Media Congress.
26 L. M. Confidential
Crossword Answers