Pursuant to Section 12 of Republic Act No 9163 otherwise known as the National Service Training Program (NSTP) Act of 2001, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and Department of National Defense (DND), in consultation with concerned government agencies, the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC), Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations of the Philippines (COCOPEA), Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and recognized student organizations, hereby jointly issue, adopt and promulgate the following implementing rules and regulations to implement the provisions of the Act.


SECTION 1. Guiding Principle. - While it is the prime duty of the government to serve and protect its citizens, in turn it shall be the responsibility of all citizens to defend the security of the State, and in fulfillment thereof, the government may require each citizen to render personal military or civil service.

SECTION 2. Role of Youth. -

a. In recognition of the vital role of the youth in nation-building, the State shall promote civic consciousness among them and shall develop their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual and social well-being. It shall inculcate the ideals of patriotism, nationalism, and advance their involvement in public and civic affairs.

b. As the most valuable resource of the nation, they shall be motivated, trained, organized and involved in military, literacy, civic welfare programs and other similar endeavors in the service of the nation.


SECTION 3. As used in this Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), the following terms shall mean:

a. "National Service Training Program" (NSTP) - refers to the program aimed at enhancing civil consciousness and defense preparedness in the youth, by developing the ethics of service and patriotism while undergoing training in any of the three (3) Program components, specifically designed to enhance the youth's active contribution to the general welfare;

b. "Reserve Officers' Training Corps" (ROTC) - refers to the Program component, institutionalized under Sections 38 and 39 of Republic Act No. 7077, designed to provide military training to tertiary level students in order to motivate, train, organize and mobilize them for national defense preparedness;

c. "Literacy Training Service" (LTS) - refers to the Program component designed to train the students to teach literacy and numeracy skills to school children, out-of-school youths and other segments of society in need of their services;

d. "Civic Welfare Training Service" (CWTS) - refers to the Program component or activities 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 moral of the citizenry and other social welfare services;

e. "Program Component" - refers to the service components of the NSTP as defined herein;

f. "Clustering" - refers to the grouping of students enrolled in different schools and taking up the same NSTP component into one (1) group under the management and supervision of a designated school;

g. "Cross-Enrollment" - refers to a system of enrollment where a student is officially enrolled in an academic program of a school but is allowed to enroll in the NSTP component of another school; and

h. "Non-Government Organization" (NGO) - refers to any private organization duly accredited by CHED or recognized by TESDA.


SECTION 4. Coverage. -

a. All incoming freshmen students, male and female, starting School Year (SY) 2002-2003, enrolled in any baccalaureate and in at least two (2) year technical-vocational or associate courses, are required to complete one (1) NSTP component of their choice, as a graduation requirement.

b. All higher and technical-vocational education institutions must offer at least one (1) of the NSTP components.

c. State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), shall offer the ROTC component and at least one (1) other NSTP component.

d. The Philippine Military Academy (PMA), Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA), Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA), and other SUCs of similar nature, in view of the special character of these institutions, are exempted from the NSTP.

e. Private higher and technical-vocational education institutions with at least 350 student cadets, may offer the ROTC component and consequently establish/maintain a Department of Military Science and Tactics (DMST), subject to the existing rules and regulations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

SECTION 5. Program Components. -

a. The NSTP shall have the following components which the students can choose from as defined in Rule II, Section 3 hereof: The Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), Literacy Training Service (LTS), and Civic Welfare Training Service (CWTS).

b. All program components, the ROTC in particular, shall give emphasis on citizenship training and shall instill patriotism, moral virtues, respect for the rights of civilians and adherence to the Constitution.

c. The CHED and TESDA, in consultation with the DND, and PASUC, COCOPEA and other concerned government agencies, may design and implement such other non-military training components as may be necessary in consonance with the provisions of R.A. 9163.

d. Within thirty (30) days from the approval of this IRR, the CHED, TESDA, and the DND shall issue the minimum standards for the three (3) NSTP components which shall form part of these guidelines.

SECTION 6. Duration and Equivalent Course Unit. -

a. Each of the aforementioned NSTP components shall be undertaken for an academic period of two (2) semesters. It shall be credited for three (3) per semester, for fifty-four (54) to ninety (90) training hours per semester.

b. A one (1) summer program in lieu of the two (2) semester program may be designed, formulated and adopted by the DND, CHED and TESDA, subject to the capability of the school and the AFP to handle the same.

SECTION 7. Clustering and Cross-Enrolment. -

a. Clustering of students from different education institutions during semestral or summer periods may be done for any of the NSTP components, taking into account logistics, branch of service and geographical locations. The host school shall be responsible in managing the Program.

b. Schools that do not meet the required number of students to maintain the optional ROTC and any of the NSTP, components, or do not offer the component chosen by the students, shall allow their students to cross-enroll to other schools, irrespective of whether such school is under CHED or TESDA; and in the case of students taking the ROTC component, irrespective of whether the two semesters shall be taken from different schools whose ROTC are administered/managed by different branches of service of the AFP.

c. Students intending to cross-enroll shall be subject to the existing rules and regulations of the school of origin and the accepting school.

SECTION 8. Management and Monitoring. -

a. The school authorities shall exercise academic and administrative supervision over the design, formulation, adoption and implementation of the different NSTP components in their respective schools.

b. In the case of ROTC, the school authorities and DND, subject to the policies, regulations and programs of DND on the military component of the training, shall exercise joint supervision over its implementation.

c. Schools which have contracted CHED-accredited or TESDA-recognized NGOs to formulate and administer training modules for any of the NSTP components shall jointly exercise such academic and administrative supervision with those NGOs. Within forty-five (45) days from approval and issuance of this IRR, the CHED, TESDA, and DND shall issue the necessary guidelines for the accreditation of non-government organizations (NGOs) and training modules to be utilized by these NGOs.

d. CHED Regional Offices, TESDA Provincial/District Offices and DND-AFP (through the Major Service Reserve Commands), shall oversee and monitor the implementation of the NSTP under their respective jurisdiction, to determine if the trainings conducted are in consonance with the Act. These Offices shall submit periodic reports to the Central Offices of CHED, TESDA, and DND.


SECTION 9. Fees. - No fees shall be collected for any of the NSTP component except basic tuition fees which should not be more than fifty (50%) percent of the charges of the school per academic unit.

SECTION 10. Incentives. -

a. A program of assistance/incentives for ROTC students shall be provided and administered by DND, in accordance with existing laws and regulations and subject to the availability of funds.

b. School authorities concerned, CHED and TESDA shall ensure that health and accident group insurances are provided for students enrolled in any of the NSTP components.

c. Schools that already provide health and accident group insurance and collect the necessary fees for the purpose from their students as of the effectivity of this Rules, are deemed to have complied with this requirement.

d. A Special Scholarship Program for qualified NSTP students shall be administered by CHED and TESDA, with funds for the purpose to be included in the annual regular appropriations of the two agencies, subject to the availability of funds.


SECTION 11. Organization of NSTP Graduates. -

a. Graduates of the non-ROTC components of the NSTP shall belong to the National Service Reserve Corps (NSRC) and could be tapped by the State for literacy and civic welfare activities, through the joint efforts of DND, CHED and TESDA, in coordination with DILG, DSWD and other concerned agencies/associations.

b. The CHED, TESDA, and DND, in consultation with other concerned government and non-government agencies, shall issue the necessary guidelines for the establishment, organization, maintenance and utilization of the National Service Reserve Corps.

c. Graduates of the ROTC program shall form part of the Citizens Armed Force pursuant to RA 7077, subject to the requirements of DND.


SECTION 12. Suspension of ROTC Requirement. - The completion of ROTC training as a requisite for graduation is set-aside for students who have completed all their academic requirements for their respective courses as certified by the school on or before the effectivity of the NSTP Act of 2001, which is March 23, 2002. The concerned students may apply for graduation with their respective schools.

SECTION 13. Transitory Provisions. -

a. Male students who are not covered by Section 12 of this Rule and are currently enrolled but have not taken any of the Military Service (MS), Civic Welfare Service (CWS) or Law Enforcement Service (LES) programs shall be covered by the NSTP Law.

b. Male students who have completed two semesters of the Expanded ROTC (E-ROTC)/National Service Program (NSP) are deemed to have complied with the NSTP requirement.

c. Male students who are not covered by Section 12 of this Rules and have taken only one (1) semester of Basic ROTC or E-ROTC/NSP, shall take one more semester of any of the NSTP components to qualify for graduation.

d. Students who want to qualify for enlistment in the Reserve Force or attend the Advance ROTC program shall undertake a special program for this purpose.


SECTION 14. Information Dissemination. - The CHED, TESDA, and DND shall provide information on these Act and IRR to all concerned public through different modes of disseminating information.

SECTION 15. Amendatory Clause. -

a. Section 35 of Commonwealth Act No. 1, Executive Order No. 207 of 1939, Sections 2 and 3 of Presidential Decree No. 1706, and Sections 38 and 39 of Republic Act No. 7077, as well as all laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations and other issuances inconsistent with the provisions of the Act are hereby deemed amended and modified accordingly.

b. This Rules may be amended, modified, or replaced jointly by CHED, TESDA, AND DND, in consultation with PASUC, COCOPEA, NGOs and recognized student organizations.

SECTION 16. Separability Clause. - If any section or provisions of this IRR shall be declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions not affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect.

SECTION 17. Effectivity. - This Rules shall take effect immediately upon adoption and issuance.

Adopted: April 10, 2002