The National Youth Commission wants the country’s youth to know how to respond to emergencies.

NYC Chairperson and Usec. Ronald Gian Cardema, in a recent press conference, said the government body will train more than 300,000 Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) chair and members in 42,000 barangays nationwide on disaster response.

Cardema said the NYC is also considering using the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) in capacitating the youth on disaster and emergency response.

“We are advocating this because we are a disaster prone country. Laging may bagyo sa ating bansa. ‘Di na natin mababago ‘yan,” Cardema said.

“By training the youth through the ROTC, they can learn about organizational structuring, deployment of manpower, supply line, where the food can be found, so that if their own town is damaged, they would know where to get water for their people,” he added.

Pending the approval of the bill that will revive ROTC, Cardema said the NYC is partnering with other government agencies to help train the SK members.

The NYC is also urging Congress for the immediate passage of the ROTC bill.

The last day of the summit on Nov. 25 was devoted to an immersion program at the Philippine Military Academy, where participants saw the sacrifices of the cadets and the soldiers.

“The SK summit is part of the continued effort of the NYC to instill nationalism among the Filipino youth,” NYC Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer Julius Gutierez said.

Among the topics tackled in the summit are: promoting youth entrepreneurship, sports, and well-being; promoting gender and equality and youth empowerment; orienting youth leaders on the harmful effects of illegal drugs on their health and to their communities; partnering with students and the role of SK leaders in helping out-of-school youth; and promoting Filipino core values.