WHEREAS, the Reserve Officers Training Course (ROTC) Program traces its beginnings to the establishment of military training at the University of the Philippines in Manila in 1912;

WHEREAS, this initial training led to the adoption of the ROTC Program in other schools;

WHEREAS, the ROTC Program was approved by the Commonwealth Government and was adopted by other universities;

WHEREAS, the graduates and cadets of the ROTC Program served the country during the Battle of Corregidor and continued on in the jungles of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao;

WHEREAS, the graduates of the ROTC Program served in the wars in Korea and Vietnam in defense of freedom and democracy;

WHEREAS, the graduates and cadets of the ROTC Program made significant contributions as peacekeepers in support of the United Nations mandate of promoting international peace and security;

WHEREAS, the ROTC Program has produced leaders, commanders, managers and administrators among our youth in the fields of civilian and uniformed government service, commerce and industry, and the academe; and

WHEREAS, the graduates and cadets of the ROTC Program are always in the forefront of providing voluntary service to our country in terms of disaster preparedness and response, community development and environmental protection.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BENIGNO S. AQUINO, III, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby declare 2012 as the œReserve Officers Training Course (ROTC) Centennial Year.  Thereafter, the ROTC month shall be observed annually during the month of March.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Republic of the Philippines to be affixed.

DONE, in the City of Manila, this 16 th day of February, in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Twelve.

 

(SGD.) BENIGNO S. AQUINO III
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(SGD.) PAQUITO N. OCHOA, JR.
Executive Secretary