National Service Training

Program (NSTP) Law

Republic Act 9163

• Signed on January 23, 2002
• Republic of the Philippines
Congress of the Philippines
Metro Manila
• Twelfth Congress
• First Regular Session
• Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-third day of
July, two thousand one. (July 23, 2001)
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9163
AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE NATIONAL SERVICE
TRAINING PROGRAM (NSTP) FOR TERTIARY LEVEL
STUDENTS, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC
ACT NO. 7077 AND PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1706,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
•Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of
Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled.
SECTION 1. Short Title.
•This Act shall be known as the “National Service
Training Program (NSTP) Act of 2001”.
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy.
• It is hereby affirmed 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.
• Recognizing the youth’s vital role in nation-building, the State shall
promote civic consciousness among the youth and shall develop their
physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual and social well-being. It shall
inculcate in the youth patriotism, nationalism, and advance their
involvement in public and civic affairs.
• In pursuit of these goals, the youth, the most valuable resource of the
nation, shall be motivated, trained, organized and mobilized in
military training, literacy, civic welfare and other similar endeavors in
the service of the nation.
SEC. 3. Definition of Terms.
•For purposes of this Act, the following are hereby defined as
follows:
(a) “National Service Training Program (NSTP)” is a program
aimed at enhancing civic consciousness and defense
preparedness in the youth by developing the ethics of service
and patriotism while undergoing training in any of its three (3)
program components. Its various components are specially
designed to enhance the youth’s active contribution to the
general welfare.
•(b) “Reserve-Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC)” is a program
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” is a program designed to train
students to become teachers of literacy and numeracy skills
to school children, out of school youth, and other segments
of society in need of their service.
•(d) “Civic Welfare Training Service” refers to programs 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 morals of the
citizenry.
•(e) “Program component” shall refer to the service
components of the NSTP as enumerated on Section 4 of this
Act.
SEC. 4. Establishment of the National Service Training
Program.
• There is hereby established a National Service Training Program
(NSTP), which shall form part of the curricula of all baccalaureate
degree courses and of at least two (2)-year technical-vocational
courses and is a requisite for graduation, consisting of the
following service components:
• (1) The Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), which is hereby
made optional and voluntary upon the effectivity of this Act;
• (2) The Literacy Training Service; and
• (3) The Civil Welfare Training Service.
•The ROTC under the NSTP shall instill patriotism,
moral virtues, respect for rights of civilians, and
adherence to the Constitution, among others.
Citizenship training shall be given emphasis in all
three (3) program components.
•The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
(TESDA), in consultation with the Department of
National Defense (DND), Philippine Association of
State Universities and Colleges (PASUC), Coordinating
Council of Private Educational Associations of the
Philippines (COCOPEA) and other concerned
government agencies, may design and implement
such other program components as may be necessary
in consonance with the provisions of this Act.
SEC. 5. Coverage.
•Students, male and female, of any baccalaureate
degree course or at least two (2)-year
technical-vocational courses in public and
private educational institutions shall be required
to complete one (1) of the NSTP components as
requisite for graduation.
SEC. 6. Duration and Equivalent Course Unit.
•Each of the aforementioned NSTP program
components shall be undertaken for an academic
period of two (2) semesters.

•In lieu of the two (2)-semester program for any

of the components of the NSTP, a one (1)
summer program may be designed, formulated
and adopted by the DND, CHED and TESDA.
SEC. 7. NSTP Offering in Higher and
Technical-Vocational Educational
Institutions.
•— All higher and technical-vocational institutions,
public and private, must offer at least one of the
program components: Provided, That State
universities and colleges shall offer the ROTC
component and at least one other component as
provided herein: Provided, further, That private
higher and technical-vocational education institutions
may also offer the ROTC if they have at least three
hundred and fifty (350) cadet students.
•In offering the NSTP whether during the semestral or
summer periods, clustering of affected students from
different educational institutions may be done, taking into
account logistics, branch of service and geographical
considerations. Schools that do not meet the required
number of students to maintain the optional ROTC and any
of the NSTP components shall allow their students to
cross-enroll to other schools irrespective of whether or not
the NSTP components in said schools are being administered
by the same or another branch of service of the Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP), CHED and TESDA to which
schools are identified.
SEC. 8. Fees and Incentives.
• Higher and technical-vocational institutions shall not collect any
fee for any of the NSTP components except basic institution fees,
which shall not be more than fifty percent (50%) of what is
currently charged by schools per unit.
• In the case of the ROTC, the DND shall formulate and adopt a
program of assistance and/or incentive to those students who will
take the said component.
• The school authorizes concerned, the CHED and TESDA shall
ensure that group insurance for health and accident shall be
provided for students enrolled in any of the NSTP components.
SEC. 9. Scholarships.
•There is hereby created a Special Scholarship Program
for qualified students taking the NSTP which shall be
administered by the CHED and TESDA. Funds for this
purpose shall be included in the annual regular
appropriations of the CHED and TESDA.
SEC. 10. Management of the NSTP Components.
• The school authorities shall exercise academic and
administrative supervision over the design, formulation, and
adoption and implementation of the different NSTP
components in their respective schools: Provided, That in
case a CHED- or TESDA-accredited non-government
organization (NGO) has been contracted to formulate and
administer a training module for any of the NSTP
components, such academic and administrative supervision
shall be exercised jointly with that accredited NGO:
Provided, further, That such training module shall be
accredited by the CHED and TESDA.
•The CHED and TESDA regional offices shall
oversee and monitor the implementation of the
NSTP under their jurisdiction to determine if the
trainings are being conducted in consonance
with the objectives of this Act. Periodic reports
shall be submitted to the CHED, TESDA and DND
in this regard.
SEC. 11. Creation of the National Service Reserve
Corps.
• There is hereby created a National Service Reserve
Corps, to be composed of the graduates of the
non-ROTC components. Members of this Corps may
be tapped by the State for literacy and civic welfare
activities through the joint effort of the DND, CHED
and TESDA.
•Graduates of the ROTC shall form part of the Citizens’
Armed Force, pursuant to Republic Act No. 7077.
SEC. 12. Implementing Rules.
•The DND, CHED and TESDA shall have the joint
responsibility for the adoption of the implementing
rules of this Act within sixty (60) days from the
approval of this Act.
•These three (3) agencies shall consult with other
concerned government agencies, the PASUC and
COCOPEA, NGOs and recognized student
organizations in drafting the implementing rules.
SEC. 13. Transitory Provisions.
•Students who have yet to complete the Basic ROTC, except
those falling under Section 14 of this Act, may either
continue in the program component they are currently
enrolled or shift to any of the other program components of
their choice: Provided, That in case he shifts to another
program component, the Basic ROTC courses he has
completed shall be counted for the purpose of completing
the NSTP requirement: Provided, further, That once he has
shifted to another program component, he shall complete
the NSTP in that component.
SEC. 14. Suspension of ROTC Requirement.

•The completion of ROTC training as

requisite for graduation is hereby set aside
for those students who despite completing
all their academic units as of the effectivity
of this Act have not been allowed to
graduate.
SEC. 15. Separability Clause.

•If any section or provision of this Act shall

be declared unconstitutional or invalid, the
other sections or provisions not affected
thereby shall remain in full force and effect.
SEC. 16. Amendatory Clause.
•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 this Act are hereby
deemed amended and modified accordingly.
SEC. 17. Effectivity.
•This Act shall take effect (15) days after its
publication in two (2) newspapers of national
circulation, but the implementation of this Act
commence in the school year of 2002-2003.
• Source: CDAsia
• RESOURCES
• [PDF] Republic Act No. 9163, January 23, 2002
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