The proposal of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio to make military service mandatory to young people has just received strong support from the Philippine Army particularly the Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom) headed by Lt. Gen. Greg T. Almerol.
EastMinCom’s support followed a column of Ramon Farolan, former commanding general of the Philippine Airforce and Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia, praising Inday Sara’s proposal arguing for her proposal.
An interesting national debate on the proposal is expected during and after the elections especially if Mayor sara will win and push for mandatory military service for the Filipino youth.
In his column last Sunday in the Philippine Daily Inquirer entitled “On mandatory service, Sara got it right,” General Farolan said.
“Last week, among the various programs laid out by candidates on the campaign trail, one proposal made by a young lady caught the most attention. Mayor Sara Duterte, running for the vice presidency declared that if elected, she would push for mandatory military service for all Filipinos turning 18, saying it would inspire patriotism among the youth. “While the devil is always in the details, the key word in her brief remarks was the modifier “mandatory,” he said.
Ms Duterte-Carpio’s proposal bears watching because it is an important one.
Right now, of the world’s 195 countries, 85 have adopted the policy of mandatory military service for young people starting from 18 years old. These include the United States of America, China, South Korea, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Greece, Austria, Brazil, Israel, Singapore, Norway, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Vietnam, Mexico, Mongolia Morocco, Paraguay, Portugal, Russia, Qatar, Thailand, Turkey and Spain, among many others.
It may be worth mentioning that many members of the House of Representatives and the Senates are graduates of the National Defense College who have understanding of the importance of Mayor Sara’s proposal.
Let’s wait what happens if the time comes.
